Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
The Gogebic County Jail is located on Iron Street in Bessemer near the Gogebic County Courthouse. The jail building also includes the Gogebic County Sheriff's Office. County officials have begun a study to looking at building a new jail.
By ZACHARY MARANO
Bessemer - Following a recent building study, Gogebic County Board of Commissioners Chair Jim Lorenson concluded that the county needs a new jail. A Jail Committee was formed at the board's meeting on March 23 and it came back to the board Wednesday with a recommendation for a contractor to establish a jail design study.
Lorenson said that the newly appointed committee met with Tom Weber, an independent contractor specializing in justice system and jail program planning facilitation. Weber proposed a contract for a local system assessment for the design of the new jail.
Gogebic County Sheriff and Jail Committee member Ross Solberg said Weber came highly recommended by the Marinette-based architecture firm U.P. Engineers and Architects Inc., which has been performing a buildings study for the county.
Lorenson said Weber would review demographics, court records and inmate counts, and use this data to set the parameters for the design of the new jail. Weber will also look at some preliminary sites for the jail. Lorenson said that this will be merely the first step towards building a new jail and the board of commissioners will have to make additional decisions in the future.
"As soon as we get this report, if we want to continue to move forward, we're going to have to look for someone to design the jail. We will have to make a decision on how we fund it. Bond or millage? There are pros and cons each way. Once we know what the cost looks like, we'll have to make a decision to move forward and hire a contractor," Lorenson said.
The county board approved a contract not to exceed $5,700 with Weber for his work.
Lorenson told the Daily Globe that Jail Administrator Trevor Jackovich and County Administrator Juliane Giackino played an important role in establishing the jail feasibility study that informed the discussion at the March 23 meeting.
