LAKE COUNTY — Area leaders and businesses are reacting as a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE detention center is set to open soon at a private prison here in Northern michigan.
The North Lake Correctional Facility, located just outside of Baldwin, is a private prison owned by the GEO Group and is expected to open up later this summer.
They are trying to fill some 500 jobs.
While some see this as good news, some local leaders and area businesses are skeptical about it lasting, saying they’ve been down this road before.
Baldwin village president Harold Nichols said the buzz around town is to be cautiously optimistic.
“Cautiously optimistic is the word of the day here in Lake County concerning the prison. We hope they’ll be open long term. We won’t be surprised if they aren’t. And I think a lot of the people who apply for the jobs there are in that same mindset. It’s good for us economically in this area but it completely [depends] on how long the contracts last.
The correctional facility has been opened and closed several times throughout the years.
“It opened originally as a juvenile corrections center for the state. They called it the punk prison at that time, that was supposed to be a ten-year contract that kind of lost that. Since then, they’ve reopened a few different times,” said Nichols.
He said he knows several people in Baldwin who have applied, and some have already been hired.
But for people who don’t live in the area, it may be a little harder to attract.
Hopefully, it’ll bring some families to move here. Hopefully some housing will increase. The numbers at the school may increase, all the restaurants, all the businesses, gas stations will all see a definite benefit. Just from the sheer numbers of travel in and out, our tax base will go up as well, for the county and the township at the same time. I would be very hesitant myself to move here, buy a house here, uproot my kids to a new school, without a longer-term commitment from my employer,” said Nichols.
Debbie’s Sportsman’s Lounge bar owner, Debra Mead said when she first heard the news her first thought was ‘Here we go again’. She said she’s hopeful it will bring more people to Baldwin and have a positive impact, but people have been burned in the past.
“I’ve had some friends that have moved that ended up moving here before the job, and then they have to sell their homes, and they shut it down,
Down the street, Debbie Russell said this is good for Baldwin and businesses like her daughter’s at The Fabric Peddler.
The business is already profiting, hemming uniform pants for the facility.
“It’s going to bring a lot of jobs to the area, and it’ll help the housing or, you know, help people to buy homes and that kind of stuff,” said Russell.
Nichols said the detention center would become one of the largest employers in the area.
He also said there is a pretty good gamut of unskilled and skilled jobs being offered.
“They’ll need a physical. They’ll need a credit check. You know, depending on what your job title is, you may need college education,” said Nichols.
Not everyone is thrilled with the news, Sheriff Rich Martin said there have been protests recently against the facility reopening and another is set for this Saturday.