Leaders honor Spirit of America Award winners
Aroostook needs a new jail and it could carry a price tag of more than $90 million, County commissioners learned Wednesday.
During the commissioners’ meeting at the Caribou courthouse, a South Carolina-based criminal justice consulting firm called Justice Planners made a presentation that offered some initial projections.
County leaders have debated the need for a new jail for some time. Built in 1889, the Houlton facility is licensed for 117 inmates and hasn’t been renovated in 40 years. National Institute of Corrections consultants said in 2024 the building is unsafe, overcrowded and lacks adequate security, and it urged officials to consider building a new structure.
The Aroostook County Jail Commission formed last year to study the options, and is working with Justice Planners. The multiyear process is still in early days, but soon commissioners will have to decide whether to hire designers to project what a new jail would look like, County Administrator Ryan Pelletier said Wednesday.
“We’re about 25 percent along in this process,” he said. “Ultimately, the decision on a new jail will rest with the public, in a referendum vote.”
Pelletier said two referendum votes would likely be needed: one to approve moving ahead with a new jail and another to approve the location.
A 158-bed jail would require about 99,000 square feet, while a 229-bed facility would have to be about 121,000 square feet, Justice Planners President Alan Richardson said during the presentation via video.
It’s difficult to project construction costs, since they change so quickly and vary by region, but the price of a jail could range from $91 million to $112 million, he said. Knowing the inmate population and average length of stay can help build the right size jail for The County’s needs.
Planners found the jail’s space was effectively used, well maintained and “remarkably clean,” but lack of adequate space affected its efficiency, according to Justice Planners’ final June assessment report. Among the points noted were: no barriers between staff and arrestees in the booking area, inadequate file storage areas, old plumbing, outdated electric controls and lack of space for inmates needing isolation.
The Houlton location is also not the best, according to the assessment.
“The current jail’s location in the southern part of the county is an artifact of an 1800s statute that required jails to be in the county seat, which was then the population center,” planners said in the report. “After 150 years, population shifts have
made the [1889] jail’s location less than ideal.”
Currently two-thirds of jail bookings come from north of Houlton, so moving the jail north would make sense in that respect, Patrick Jablonski of Justice Planners said, joining the meeting via video. However, 78 percent of corrections staff are in the Houlton area.
A new jail would need to house more people, from roughly 158 to 229, according to data projections, he said. Jails also need to have extra space for such needs as maintenance and isolating certain jail populations from others when the need arises.
Commissioner Paul Underwood broached the idea of building inmate quarters in sections that could open or close as needed.
A large jail with a capacity of more than 500 inmates would allow officials to build housing that could be expanded as needed, Richardson said. But construction is always going to cost more later, so building all at once would likely be more economical for Aroostook County.
And construction is just one part of it.
“As expensive as construction is going to be for a new jail, it’s going to pale in comparison to what it’s going to cost to operate it,” he said.
The group will likely revisit the jail discussion at its July meeting, Pelletier said.
Commissioners also presented several Spirit of America Awards to people who go above and beyond in volunteering in their communities. Awardees received plaques and gifts.
The following were honored: the Friends Helping Friends Food Pantry of Easton for serving those in need; Carter McBreairty of Allagash for volunteer work at the Faye O’Leary Hafford Library; Betty Benson of Portage Lake for her work with several community organizations; the Frenchville Historical Society for preserving local history, accepted by Phil Levesque and his wife, Karen; and the Van Buren Revitalization Association for its work to renew a sense of community in the town.
Other honorees not present were Mike Greenlaw of Fort Fairfield and Jeff and Elizabeth Clark of Mapleton.
In other business, commissioners voted to have Pelletier investigate transferring ownership of the Lakeview Senior Center in Cross Lake to the County. The County owns the land, but the building has been privately owned, and its 92-year-old owner is eager to transfer the deed.
A public hearing was held in Cross Lake recently with about 25 community members attending, all of whom were in favor of the transfer, Pelletier said.
At the request of Aroostook County Sheriff Peter Johnson, commissioners also voted to recommission Sgt. Shanna Duffy of the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office and hire Carrie Crandall as a part-time dispatcher.
They also authorized Johnson to move $12,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds — no longer needed for new e-printers thanks to a grant — into a relocation bonus account. Still under development, the fund would help current and prospective employees relocate to where they are most needed.
The commissioners approved several bids for maintenance work, including road paving, snow plowing, custodial services and window work at the Houlton courthouse.
The group scheduled a tax abatement hearing for a Weston property owner at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 16, at the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office conference room.
The next meeting will be at 1 p.m. that same day and location.
