The Berrien County Board of Commissioners is reviewing its options for a possible replacement of the county juvenile center. The board’s administration committee heard a report from Wightman this week on the need and the cost. Berrien County Administrator Brian Dissette tells us something does need to be done with the facility.
“The current juvenile center is about 50 years old,” Dissette said. “It was built in 1974, it’s about 30,000 square feet. While the facility, if you were to talk into it today, is clean, is well kept, is well maintained, it is absolutely showing its age.”
A new juvenile center would have to be larger than the current one. Dissette says it wouldn’t come cheap.
“At the low end, we’d be looking at an investment, for just the smallest amount of square footage, could range around $57 million. If we were to build everything that is being recommended by the consulting firm, that number could be as high as $92 million.”
Dissette says the county commission is considering this while also looking at needs for the Berrien County Jail, which is in a similar situation. One possibility laid out in the Wightman report is moving the juvenile center, the jail, and other county facilities to property along Napier Avenue near the health department and animal control. Dissette says commissioners will be reviewing and discussing all of this in the coming months. He does not expect a decision anytime soon.
