Antrim County is seeking $25.5 million for a new public safety center, an upgrade that law enforcement officials and mental health professionals say is much needed.
The current jailhouse is around 70 years old, and its aging facilities have led to issues for inmates and law enforcement.
Officials say the cells have spaces where inmates could hide weapons or contraband from corrections officers, and combined with necessary plumbing repairs and narrow walkways, officers say it’s time for an upgrade.
“The county’s facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in the next few years of just regular maintenance on this building,” said county administrator Jeremy Scott. “And we’re facing millions of dollars in the next several years to just bring this barely up to code, not really even satisfying the problems.”
The center would include the new jail, county sheriff headquarters, a 911 dispatch center and training space for authorities. The jail would remain at 56 beds.
If approved, officials aim to break ground by the end of 2025 and move in around 2027.
County officials say the project would support both law enforcement and the broader community.
“This is a tremendous opportunity to make change people’s lives for generations, in a lot of positive ways,” said Janet Koch, deputy county administrator. “We have a lot of high hopes for this. It’s a community project, and we are waiting eagerly for the community to make their decision.”
The project would also include facilities for community members or inmates experiencing mental health episodes, along with resources for substance abuse recovery.
“The mental health aspect and the ability to provide some substance abuse treatment to inmates, which hopefully will reduce recidivism, all using metric based programs — we have high hopes for that,” Koch said.
Brian Babbitt, CEO of North Country Community Mental Health, says that support-based interventions can improve outcomes for inmates and the wider community.
“When offenses are, you know, non violent, non felony type offenses — would somebody be better served through some mental health services, versus incarceration,” he said.
“Healthy community members are critical for a healthy community,” Babbitt continued. “And for folks who are not experiencing a mental illness or who are not involved with law enforcement or the courts, it is critical that the majority of the folks in the community really are in a good place in order for you to be in a good place.”
If approved by voters, the public safety center would include resources for a low stimulus room, trauma-informed parenting support classes and in-person parenting time for incarcerated family members.
“We’re trying to put a focus on that with this facility, with some flex spaces that can be utilized with outside agencies to provide the services and get people connected in the right way and spend less time in the jail and more time building back into our community,” Scott said.
The facility would also be staffed with social workers for substance abuse treatment, which officials say is an important factor in reducing recidivism.
“These are not new concepts, incorporating the mental health and more programming into jails — but is new for a rural jail of our size,” Koch said. As far as we can tell, something like this has not been done in a facility the size in a jail of only 56 beds.”
Officials say that investments in the project could lead to benefits for residents around the area.
“We need a new jail. But what the community needs even more than a jail is these mental health treatments, substance abuse treatments, something to really, potentially move the needle on some of these really, really difficult issues for generations to come,” Koch said.
The project is projected to cost around $32 million, but officials said the county is putting at least $7 million into the project.
The .56 mill proposal would cost a homeowner with a taxable value of $100,000 just under $5 a month, or $56 annually.