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SCHOOLCRAFT COUNTY -- The Schoolcraft County Jail is not up to the Department of Corrections standards, and if changes aren't made, the D.O.C. is threatening to bring the County Board of Commissioners to court.

The repairs are estimated to take months and cost close to 50,000 dollars.

The Schoolcraft County Board of Commissioners has only 23,000 dollars in a capital improvement fund to get the building up to standard.

Despite that fact the Schoolcraft County Board of Commissioners sent a letter to the Department of Corrections stating they would move forward with the repairs immediately.

"We look at all aspects of possible funding and there is no simple answer and I guess that's why the repairs were not made long ago," Schoolcraft County Clerk and Register of Deeds, Daniel R. McKinney said.  “Now the time has come where it has to be done and we're just going to have to come up with the money and make the repairs."

But what exactly are the biggest problems with the jail?

First, it was built in 1957 to house 16 inmates and the building, with the exception of some minor changes, it has stayed the same but taken on up to 32 inmates since then.

The floors are in need of paint and the windows need to be upgraded to corrections grade windows.    

And there is yet another problem, a leaky roof.

"We don't know the cost of that yet that's an addition to,” McKinney said.  “We're using the money for the roof to make other repairs and now we need to repair the roof."

Schoolcraft County is also in the planning phases of another project, a new jail.

At the earliest, construction could begin in February.

It could take up to a year and a half to finish.  County leaders hope the project will stay under 10 million dollars.

And how will they pay for it?  The county is hoping to pass a millage in February.