(Allegan) - Maybe, just maybe, a new Allegan County Jail is coming.
Yesterday, the County Board of Commissioners voted 10 to 1 to purchase the 189 thousand square-foot former Haworth plant on River Street and convert it into a County lockup, along with office space in the structure to house the Sheriff’s Department.
According to Steve McNeal of Fillmore Township, this location became more desirable than the county’s complex at Dumont Lake, which initially had been suggested for building a new detention facility.
County Administrator Rob Sarro says instead of paying 130 dollars per square foot for a brand new structure, they can pull off the project for about 30 dollars a square foot. Although the property was listed for sale at 2.45 million dollars, the county will reportedly pay 1.8 million for the building and the adjacent 22 acres, and spend about four more million bucks in the conversion effort. McNeal said that the county has the money to buy the property and renovate the office space, but may have to ask the voters next fall to approve a millage in order to put up the cell blocks needed.
Allegan County is apparently in dire need of a new jail, as the current facility, built in 1962 to house only 60 inmates, has been expanded over the years, with 186 incarcerated there now. In recent years, the county has had to release prisoners early due to overcrowding.
-Gary Stevens, WHTC/WYVN News
