A $200,000 grant from the state to study issues at the Berrien County Jail has been accepted by the Berrien County Board of Commissioners.
State Representative Joey Andrews secured the jail study grant for the county last year, and commissioners on Thursday authorized the county sheriff’s department to enter into an agreement with the state for the funds.
Berrien County Administrator Brian Dissette tells us they’re going to study whether the jail should be replaced or simply renovated to meet evolving needs. Issues at the jail have been under discussion for years.
“The prior sheriff, Sheriff Bailey, would often talk about the complications of having the current jail,” Dissette said. “Parts of it go back to the 50s. It’s based on a model where you’ve got multiple floors, and the use of elevators are required. I think that what you tend to see now on more modern jails would be one-story facilities built in like a pod-like formation. That then reduces your total labor costs.”
Dissette says they’re also going to study whether the juvenile facility and adult jail should be under one roof to save even more on costs.
The grant will enable the county to hire a consultant who can study the issue and organize previous studies into one comprehensive document. With the state grant now approved, the county will put together a request for proposals to hire that consultant.
