As infrastructure crumbles, new Ingham County Juvenile Center eyed

(In an earlier version of this story,  a quotation in the last paragraph of this story was originally attributed to Ryan Sebolt. It as been corrected in this version.)

Over and over again, a review of the Ingham County Youth Center by Fishbeck + HDR came to the same conclusion: “Equipment is past its normal service life.”

The report, provided to the county in November 2022, found nine of 23 systems “non-functional, beyond its useful life, not code compliant, or requires investment beyond its value.” That included the 37-year-old building’s sanitary sewer piping, water system piping, heat transfer equipment, the exhaust system, air handling units, air distribution and duct work, the HVAC cooling and heating system piping and the controls for the HVAC system. 

Another 10 systems exhibited some degradation and were nearing the end of their serviceable life. The report found the electrical and security system serviceable along with the roof. But only four of the reviewed systems were identified as working properly and without issues: the exterior walls, hot water production, the natural gas system and the heating equipment. 

The Ingham County Board of Commissioners is facing a decision. Does it spend $32 million renovating the 24-bed facility a 700 E. Jolly Road or does it invest that money into a new building designed to meet the needs of incarcerated youth?

For Commissioner Mark Polsdofer, the  answer is a no-brainer: a new facility. As the current chair of the commission’s Law and Courts Committee, he will be called upon to shepherd any renovations or a new building through the Board of Commissioners. The committee began examining the pros and cons last week.

The current facility, he noted, is not only old and suffering from a litany of issues, but it also is not designed to meet the programmatic needs of incarcerated youth ages 12-17. A new facility would address that deficiency. 

“That would be able to be designed from the start to deal with the challenges and realities of how we are dealing with things today,” he said. 

The county’s current juvenile justice millage, first approved by voters in 2002, has provided a dramatic reduction in recidivism and new cases in the juvenile court, according to data on the county’s website. Between 2004 and 2016, new charges or petitions against juveniles went from 1,296 to 635. And the county has an overall reduction in recidivism of 12.1%, which is better than the national best practices programs.

Voters last approved the juvenile justice millage in August 2022. The millage brings in about $2 million a year, which is used for programming to address juvenile involvement in the court system. Estimates to renovate the 1986 building or build a new facility sit at about $32 million, Polsdofer said. 

But rather than raid the funding for programming that is working, the county is working with state officials to draw down a grant to cover the full amount. Last year, the state adopted Raise the Age legislation allowing the state to prosecute 17-year-olds through the juvenile division, rather than feeding them into the state adult probation and incarceration systems. The legislation added costs by increasing the number of youths but also provided additional funding in the state budget.

“The department has released an initial intent-to-apply process for applicants to submit preliminary proposals for fiscal year 2024 funding,” said Bob Wheaton, spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. “Ingham County submitted an application for $32 million for capital improvements. The proposed funding for all Raise the Age applicants for fiscal year 2024 is $13.1 million. Approval of county or tribal requests will occur after the budget process is completed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Whitmer.”

In both 2022 and 2023, the state also had $13.1 million in Raise the Age dollars for grants.

But Polsdofer is hopeful the county will prevail in its request. 

“Having Sen. Anthony both as a former county commissioner and the Appropriations chair for the entire Senate certainly helps to give us a major voice and advocate in advocating for the priorities of our region,” he said, referring to Democrat Sarah Anthony of Lansing. 

Anthony said by text message she is “supportive in concept” of the funding request. She is looking forward to “receiving additional information from the county.” She’s added the request to additional city and county funding requests for the upcoming budget. 

Board of Commissioners Chair Ryan Sebolt said he would support a new facility. 

“My mind is likening to the county jail,” he said. “You keep pumping money into it, but at some point you can’t do that anymore. It’s time to look at the cost to modernize it.”

Voters in August 2018 approved a .85 mill levy to build a new county jail and justice facility. The new facility was opened in February, and the county is in the process of demolishing the old jail. 

Sebolt said he is “very hopeful” the county will be able to access some state funding.

“We’re that we’re at the beginning of discussion,” he said. With the legislature pushing to complete a budget and put it on Whitmer’s desk before October, the window is narrowing. But he thinks the first chamber passage of a budget proposal will potentially include funding for Ingham County to build a new facility. 

He said this is about improving the outcomes for the youth who come into the system.  

“They’re the folks that have made some wrong decisions, but for those that are 12 to 17 years old, a key aspect of this is that they are still learning when they are in there,” Polsdofer said. “There are classrooms in there, a library. They’re there not to just be incarcerated. The whole idea here is to also help to show them that there are better choices to be made and focus on helping to make sure that this is hopefully a one-time situation in their life.” 

— TODD HEYWOOD