Alpena County Sheriff’s Office to Host Tours of Jail Before Vote
In an effort to show the public just how badly needed a new jail is, the Alpena County Sheriff’s Office will host public tours of the county jail once a week during the month of October. The current facility was built in 1956, and since then has been home to asbestos, deterioration, and other health hazards to jail staff and inmates.
“There’s a number of maintenance issues that we deal with, the asbestos being one of them. The structure of the building itself has cracks where there shouldn’t be cracks, and there are some deteriorating spots that become a safety concern for my staff and the inmates,” says Jail Administrator Scott Gagnon.
The sheriff’s office decided to host public tours of the jail in preparation for an upcoming election during which the public will vote on whether or not to pass millage to build a new Alpena County Jail. If passed, the millage would support a new jail to be built on M-32, between Sportsmen drive and Airport road.
With public tours of the jail occurring every Thursday throughout October, officials are hoping the public’s eyes are opened to the poor conditions in the current facility before the vote on November 7th.
“I think people will look at the facility and get a better understanding of what the staff and what the inmates who are lodged here are going through on a day–to–day basis,” says Gagnon.
Tours will occur between 7 pm and 9 pm every Thursday throughout October. Each tour will last 30 minutes and should be prefaced by contacting jail administrator sergeant Gagnon by phone or email.
Anyone wishing to take the tour can reach him at (989) 354–9835 or by emailing him at gagnons@alpenacounty.org.
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