Marquette County Jail Renovates After 40 Years

MARQUETTE, Mich. — Since the Marquette County Jail first opened in 1976, the facility has had few changes and repairs; however, the jail is finally undergoing a $1.6 million renovation 40 years later to help bring it up to code.

Construction on the renovation began in October, and is scheduled for completion by the end of spring or early summer. The construction team is able to move quickly because the facility was able to move inmates to the Marquette County Community Corrections Detention Center, allowing for the team to work on three blocks at a time, instead of just one, Marquette County Undersheriff Michael Klein, told Upper Michigans Source.

A major part of the project will include renovating the doors of all 80 cells at the jail to be inverted so that they push out instead of in. This will help with safety and avoid the chance of inmates barricading themselves behind the door, making it difficult for staff to assist them, Klein told the Associated Press.

Also included in the renovation will be a new fire alarm system, camera system, building generator and electronic door-locking system. The new system will allow staff to lock and unlock all doors at once from a control room, instead of having to use keys to manually lock the doors if a fight or medical incident occurred. Keys will only be used as a backup form of entry, Deputy Ryan Kainulainen told the Associated Press.

The updated camera system will feature more sophisticated technology than what is currently being used, according to Upper Michigans Source. New cameras will be installed in the common area in the general population and in the nine maximum-security cellblocks, which will also have cameras installed inside the cell. The newly positioned cameras will give jail staff 360 degrees in all these areas, according to the Associated Press.

Klein told Upper Michigans Source that the jail had been using the same generation put in back in 1976 prior to the new one being installed.

Deputies expect these changes will make their jobs more efficient. “I mean, obviously compared to other jails, we look more old school, compared to the modern all glass jails, and I think we’re taking a step towards that which I like,” Kainulainen told Upper Michigans Source.

The Marquette County Board approved funding for the project last year, and County Board Chairman Gerald Corkin said at the body’s regular meeting recently that the jail renovation project is among one of the major things he is looking forward to in 2016, according to the Associated Press.

Kainulainen added that the renovations are being well-received and the process is moving along better than he expected. “It already looks a lot different,” he told the Associated Press. “Aside from a little more noise and people, it’s going smoothly.”