Visitors explore one of the Midland County Jail cell blocks as they tour the facility after a ribbon cutting ceremony that commemorated the opening of the $25 million jail in Midland on Thursday afternoon. After the ceremony, visitors were given the opportunity to tour parts of the jail that they will not be allowed to enter once it is in full operation.
MIDLAND — Elected officials, Midland County employees, construction officials, workers, and the public watched as Sheriff Jerry Nielsen and County Commissioner Rose Marie McQuaid cut the red ribbon at Thursday’s grand opening ceremonies of the $25 million Midland County Jail at Rockwell and Fast Ice drives.
Amid sprinkles of rain and at times a strong wind in front of an audience of more than 500, Nielsen thanked county leaders and “the people of Midland for your support and contribution.”
Voters in 2006 approved a $25 million bond for 20 years to pay for the facility, which replaces the downtown lockup.
Nielsen has the keys to the new 103,000-square-foot facility.
“There is a lot of pride in this dedication,” he said, noting the building’s occupancy certificate arrived Monday.
“We can now start training the staff in the building and in some 60 days begin to move prisoners. This is a facility designed to take programs to the prisoners and take the prisoners to nothing,” enhancing security and saving the county money.
“We will have a chance at community corrections programs, education, anger management, and help for prisoners, and rewarding good behavior,” he said.
Midland has about 140 inmates but space for 98 downtown; the rest at any one time are boarded in other jails. The new jail has 250 spaces. The county plans to rent empty beds for income.
The year before voters agreed to fund a new jail,
o
ut-of-county jail rental cost Midland taxpayers $322,912.
“This is a great building. You don’t feel you are inside a cave or a dark box,” said Facilities Manager Kevin Beeson. “We may have pushed the envelope, but it is a good building for the people of Midland.”
Audience members took self-guided tours, while Beeson urged them to look for the building’s unique features.
It was designed by architect Tower Pinkster Titus of Kalamazoo and HOK of St. Louis, Mo. and built by Granger Construction of Lansing.
The jail includes pods for inmates, indoor open-air recreation facilities, maintenance-free floors, geothermal heating, controlled lighting, and 30 security cameras and recorders.
“The public said it wanted a jail for $25 million, and not a penny more. We looked at many innovations and picked Michigan products and Great Lakes Bay contractors. This will serve us for generations to come,” Beeson said.
Workers have been on the site for nearly two years, with not a single “lost-time accident,” Nielsen said.
“My heart is full of hope that we can change the lives of those who come in here,” McQuaid said. “And I have thanksgiving for all who worked so hard to make this possible.”