Jail looking to upgrade if bond proposal passes

ESCANABA — On May 3rd, Delta County will vote on a bond proposal for the building of a new sheriff’s office and correctional facility at the Delta County Service Center.

Overcrowding is a major topic of discussion regarding the current jail. Startling projection numbers were released showing that by 2036, the county jail will be taking in 163 inmates per day.

“That’s not a number that I made up or just pulled out of a hat. That was a professional consultant looking at rates of climb, length of stay, what’s the state doing, what is our economic situation, and 163 per day is what we’re looking at for 2036,” said Philip Strom, a Delta County Prosecutor.

That wasn’t the only issue discussed; so was the current design. Which, according to Delta County Sheriff Ed Oswald, has been outdated nineteen–eighty–three.

“There’s been a lot of changes in the last 53 years. In 1983, the federal jail standards changed from a linear style to what you saw proposed,” said Delta County Sheriff, Ed Oswald.

Simply renovating could save as much as two million dollars as opposed to building a new facility from scratch. The new service center would cost just under twenty million dollars.

Should voters approve the bond proposal, the updates will be finished by 2018.