COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Branch County Administrator Bud Norman went over plans for the demolition of the old county jail with the Board of Commissioners during their work session on Thursday morning.
The new Branch County Jail officially opened in October of 2021 just over three years after voters approved a millage request. Branch County inmates were moved from the old facility into the new jail last December.
The old jail is now empty and Norman said there is enough money to demolish the building sometime in 2023 but no firm date has been set.
Norman said during a power point demonstration there was not quite enough money at this time for a Sheriff’s Department evacuation and storage building.
Sheriff John Pollack told Commissioners last May an evacuation and storage barn was needed for large evidence as part of the millage for the new jail project after the State Road Commission barns on Michigan Avenue were closed.
Why don’t you take the demolition money for the old jail and convert that into some sort of evacuation and storage facility. Instead of tearing the old jail down and putting up a new building. Sounds pretty cost effective.