Bay County Commission May Go On Record Opposing Closing of Standish Prison

Closing Also Affects Local Residents, Causes Ripple Effect on Businesses

June 12, 2009
By: Dave Rogers

The State of Michigan has decided to close the Standish Maximum Correctional Facility (SMCF) July 24 to save $30.9 million a year.

The closing will affect about 350 state employees, but most reportedly will be transferred to other state jobs. And, Standish City Manager Mike Moran estimates the closing will reduce water and sewer revenues by about $1.4 million.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm recently announced confirmation of her decision.

But some Arenac County officials and residents are continuing to protest, and Tuesday the Bay County Board of Commissioners will consider joining the protest.

A resolution proposed by commissioners Donald J. Tilley and Michael J. Duranczyk is on the agenda for the 4 p.m. Tuesday Personnel/Judicial committee meeting. A special board meeting is slated to follow at which the full board will take up the issue.

"This nearly immediate closure does not allow the communities or workers adequate time to prepare and plan for the devastating economic loss," the sponsoring commissioners state in the proposed resolution.

The closing of SMCF is part of a reorganization aimed at reducing prison spending by $120 million in the 2010 fiscal year Michigan budget, starting in October.

The resolution notes "in addition to residents of Arenac County, Bay County residents are also employed at the SMCF and their loss of employment will have a serious and devastating impact not only on these employees but on our local businesses and service providers as well."

"While Bay County respectfully recognizes the needs for efficiencies in government, we also recognize the burdens and expenses already being incurred by local law enforcement agencies and are concerned about the safety of people in our community; and

"Federal stimulus dollars were allotted to Michigan to create jobs, not eliminate them," the resolution reads.

Most employees at Standish reportedly will be transferred to other state facilities.

A resolution adopted June 9 by the Arenac County Board of Commissioners stated "due to the harsh economy Arenac County has suffered economic hardship as shown in the unemployment rate of 18.5 percent and a real unemployment rate of 24 percent."

A letter to Gov. Jennifer Granholm was sent June 9 by Raymond Daniels, chair of the Arenac County board, calling the decision to close "shortsighted and questionable."

The prison closure "will exacerbate the current economic depression plaguing this community," said the Arenac request for reconsideration.

The governor was invited, but did not attend, a press conference Friday at the Resurrection of the Lord Catholic Church in Standish.

"For the government of Standish, the challenges presented are humongous," editorialized the Arenac County Independent weekly newspaper.

Standish Mayor Kevin King, saying he was "in shock," cited the fact that the prison is only 19 years old, commenting: "How do you close a prison that is probably one of the newest in the state?"

The Standish prison houses 281 prisoners, two thirds of them reportedly part of the "general population" and about one third needing more restrictive conditions. The prison was opened in 1990 to nearly universal acclaim of the economic development and employment benefits to the local community.

State Rep. Mike Prusi, D-Ishpeming, whose Upper Peninsula area will be hard hit by closing of a Kincheloe prison and several prison camps, lashed out: "These closures are a slap in the face to communities who stepped up to the plate to accept prisons when the state was in need. I a concerned about how these closures will affect workers and their families in these communities, and I hope the Department's Lansing bureaucracy will not be spared form the budget knife as well."

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