The Houghton County Board of Commissioners approved ballot language Wednesday afternoon asking voters to consider a jail construction millage that will add a 1.26 millage to property taxes.
The millage would raise $28 million for the county to build a new jail, sheriff office and construct an arraignment courtroom at a site on Sharon Avenue in Houghton.
Jail Committee Co-Chair Faith Morrison said the decision reflected careful consideration of project costs.
“Given the uncertainty of something that is called a ‘rough order of magnitude calculation,’ the consensus of the committee was that going to the 28 million would be the most prudent,” Morrison said.
Board of Commissioners Chairman Tom Tikkanen acknowledged the extensive work that led to the decision.
“It has been a long and arduous process, but I believe we’ve responded to the public’s comments, questions and concerns from our last effort,” Tikkanen said.
Commissioner Roy Britz praised the committee’s dedication to the project.
“I saw emails almost every day from her,” Britz said. “And she put a lot of time into it. The committee has put a lot of effort into this. I sat in on one of their meetings, and was impressed with how it was run.”
The county asked contractors to submit project estimates based on designs supplied by Abonmarche Consultants in 2025. That plan would build a facility with 50 beds and resolve staff and storage issues within the jail and sheriff office.
Houghton County voters will continue to learn about the project’s details as more information becomes available. Those interested in learning more about work completed by the Houghton County Jail Committee over the past year can find information online. Find the resolution approving ballot language here.
