HC Jail and Sheriff’s office holds ribbon cutting

MT. PLEASANT - A small crowd gathered outside the latest building to go up on South Grand Avenue: the Henry County Jail and Sheriff's office.

On Saturday, Nov. 9, Executive Vice President of the Mt. Pleasant Chamber Alliance Kristi Ray addressed the crowd present for the ribbon cutting and tours. She said the project was very important to the community and is proud to be able to have the new facility in town.

Sheriff Rich McNamee said he was thrilled to finally see the building ready after preparations began in 2013 and construction began in May 2018. The new 25,600 square foot building is a step up from the old 2,000 square foot space and has the capacity for 108 beds while the former jail could only house eight inmates.

He continued, saying the tax payers who voted for the $9.1 million bond referendum in August 2017 were to thank as well as the staff who have gone with all the ups and downs of construction.

'To every person who put a moment into this building I thank you from the bottom of my heart,” he said.

Lead contractor on the project John Hansen, owner of Midwest Construction Consultants in Houghton, said he was glad to be able to work on a local project that would benefit the community so greatly. He said by working together with the architects, staff and local contractors they were able to create a building that would stand for years to come and presented McNamee with a plaque that listed the names of all the committee members involved in the project which will be mounted to the inside of the building.

'I think when you get in there you're going to see you have a state of the art facility and I hope that you're very proud of it. I think that you will be,” he said.

Greg Moeller, chairman of the Henry County Board of Supervisors, said the building was a long time coming but was glad to see it finally finished. He said with the new, bigger facility, the county will be able to house more of its own inmates rather than farming them out to other counties which will eventually save tax payers money in the long run.

'It feels absolutely wonderful,” he said of seeing the finally product. 'The county has been in need of a new facility for years.”