COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Even as they wait for final word from the state of Michigan whether land will be available for construction of a new Branch County Jail adjacent to the current prison complex in Coldwater, county officials are moving ahead with plans for a millage vote in August.
It’s estimated that the construction of a new jail either on state property or on county property next to the current jail on North Marshall Road will cost around $28 million. County Administrator Bud Norman says bond attorneys are currently reviewing the project to see how many mills will be needed to fund the project. Voters would be asked to approve the millage proposal August 2, 2016.
The state Corrections Department and Department of Management and Budget are also going through the process that would allow the county to obtain the state land as an option for the new jail. There is $82,000 of insurance coverage from the Branch County Animal Control Shelter fire that will be lost if there is not an effort before the end of May 2016 of rebuilding the shelter. Plans call for putting a new shelter adjacent to any new jail.
Branch County voters in 2006 rejected a millage proposal to construct a new jail.
