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Houghton County forms citizen committees to study new jail and Sharon Avenue property
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Summary
The Houghton County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 2 directed new committees, including citizens, to study jail options, county assets and the Sharon Avenue property and to report back at monthly meetings; commissioners flagged costs, juvenile and mental-health uses, and ballot language as priorities.
Chairman Tom Tikkanen said the Houghton County Board of Commissioners will form new committees that include citizens to study the county’s jail needs, the Sharon Avenue property and other county-owned assets.
The committees, Tikkanen said at the board’s Sept. 2 work session, must post agendas and minutes and provide reports at the board’s monthly meetings. Each committee may include up to 10 people, including residents, and commissioners assigned specific duties: Commissioners Glenn Anderson and Joel Keranen will inventory county-owned properties; Commissioner Roy Britz will lead a committee focused on the Sharon Avenue property and the current jail; Tikkanen and Commissioner Gretchen Janssen will examine plans for a potential new jail.
Why it matters: Commissioners said voters have asked for more information about how the county would use the Sharon Avenue site, what would happen to the existing jail and how much new construction would cost. Tikkanen said the committees should consider whether specialized facilities or programming — including juvenile detention or mental-health services — should be incorporated and that ballot language about any proposal needs refining before it is presented to voters.
At the meeting, Anderson asked whether the prior jail committee’s work would continue to be used; Commissioner Britz referenced two recommendations that committee presented before the August election. Tikkanen said he hoped the previous committee would be included and noted the new committees will discuss participation with Sheriff Saaranen.
Board procedure and schedule: Tikkanen required that each committee run public meetings with posted agendas and minutes. The board set an initial meeting for the new committees on Friday at 9:00 a.m. in the Commissioners Hall; each committee is expected to make progress reports at future monthly board meetings.
What’s next: The committees will gather information on county property holdings and costs, refine ballot language if a funding question moves forward, and report recommendations to the full board at its next regular meeting. No formal vote on a project or funding was taken at the work session.