Want to go to jail? Don’t worry, just a visit.

As Grand Traverse County officials mull the need for more jail space, The Ticker takes a private tour of the 50-year-old lockup.

The Population
On this day, the jail is holding 155 inmates, 120 of them men. Built in 1964, the building was remodeled in 1984 and again in 2005, when an additional 39 beds brought the total capacity to 194 inmates.

But that figure is a bit deceptive, according to Lt. Dennis “Buck” Monroe, the jail’s assistant administrator, because it includes 26 minimum security bunks designed to house inmates who are eligible for work release.

“Those 26 beds are not available because we have very few of our population on work release,” explains Monroe, who joined the sheriff’s department 20 years ago. “I’d guess that at any one time less than a half dozen are on work release. A lot don’t qualify because they have a felony on their record or for some other reason.”

So the usable bunk space is 168 and, during busy summers, the jail population frequently climbs above that. On a recent day, the count was 177, prompting district court judges to approve the release of eight inmates. “If we can keep it around 160, it gives us a little bit of room,” says Monroe.

An Inmate’s Life
Wakeup is at 6am, with breakfast brought on trays at 6:30. Around 7:30am, inmates begin the daily cleaning of their cells, which consumes much of the morning. The 34 cells range from dorm-like rooms holding 26 inmates to single-person cells that house those prisoners segregated for disciplinary or medical reasons or on suicide watch.

Lunch hour is from 11:30am-12:30pm, with a menu that varies by day. Pizza, tacos and hot dogs are popular lunches which, like all meals, are contracted out to Aramark, a contractor that provides jail and prison services statewide. “The inmates have a nutritional requirement of 2,200 to 2,400 calories per day,” adds Monroe.

In the afternoons and on some evenings, classes and counseling are made available to inmates. GED classes, Bible study, drug abuse education, Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Project Unity counseling and life skills classes are available.

Dinner is delivered between 4:30pm and 5:30pm, with pizza, tacos, and noodle casserole among the favorites.

Court rulings allow jails to charge inmates up to $60 per day for housing. Grand Traverse County prisoners are charged only $20 a day, plus reimbursements for any medical expenses they incur. “It costs them $15 to see a nurse, $25 to see a doctor,” says Monroe.

Upon arriving, inmates can spend $1.75 for an “intake kit” that includes soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, a plastic cup and a copy of the jail rules. Additional hygiene items, snacks and writing materials are also available through the jail commissary.

Operating the jail takes a team of 37 officers, seven sergeants, two clerk specialists, an accounting/finance clerk and administrators Monroe and Capt. Robert Hall. Approximately 80-82 percent of the jail’s annual $4.7 million budget goes for personnel costs, according to Monroe.

Monroe says like any 50-year-old building, there are ongoing maintenance problems at the jail.

“We’ve had problems with the plumbing and other systems,” he says. “Everything is so old, it’s starting to break down. Our kitchen is way too small (for the population). And we only have one commercial washer and dryer to do laundry. It’s a challenge.”