The Houlton Town Council in a special Tuesday night meeting unanimously approved a proposal to build the new Aroostook County Jail in the town, including a recommendation of a specific piece of land.
The county issued a request for proposals from towns between Hodgdon and Caribou for land parcels to house a new multimillion-dollar correctional facility with a price tag that could top $112 million, depending on location, planners said.
Making a case for the benefits — cutting costs, maintaining jail staff and eliminating two referendum votes — of keeping the jail in Houlton, town councilors agreed that building a new jail on a town parcel is the best option for the county.
“There’s really no other viable option to keeping [the jail] in Houlton,” said Councilor Fred Grant. “To take it outside of Houlton requires three votes instead of one and its additional cost. It makes sense to keep it here.”
Town officials said they did not want to reveal the parcel location prior to the county viewing their proposal.
Moving the jail out of Houlton, the county seat, requires a referendum vote, along with votes to accept the jail in another location and another on funding. Keeping the jail in Houlton requires only the financing vote.
“Aroostook County has needed a new jail for years. Every additional election is another chance it does not get built,” said Houlton Interim Town Manager Nancy Ketch.
Securing the land is the next step in a several year process designed to replace the existing Houlton jail that has served the county for more than a century.
With the councilors’ support, the town plans to hand-deliver its proposal this week, prior to the Monday, Sept. 28 deadline.
“I think this is a very well thought out and compelling case to keep the jail here in Houlton,” said Councilor Sue Tortello. “I really want to thank all the partners who worked on it so we can submit it on Monday.”
A 2025 needs assessment from jail consultants Justice Planners modeled a Houlton facility at 158 beds and 99,000 square feet, with a total estimated project cost of $91 million and one in the Presque Isle or Caribou area at 229 beds and just under 122,000 square feet, at $112 million.
Ketch pointed to multiple cost savings if the jail remained in Houlton including critical utility savings from the consumer-owned Houlton Water Co. that provides water, sewer and electricity.
Its residential rates run about 14.8 cents a kilowatt hour against roughly 28.9 cents in Versant Power’s Maine Public District, which covers the central county, she said, adding that they were currently exploring the commercial rate comparisons.
The 2025 jail analysis pointed out that two-thirds of bookings originate north of Houlton, and the drive is a genuine burden on law enforcement. But since that time, scheduled transport runs, expanded video arraignments and remote bail review, as recommended by the county’s consultant, are making that easier, Ketch said.
Additionally, during Tuesday’s meeting Council Chairman Ed Lake pointed out that in addition to transport from the north, law enforcement must also drive to and from the Maine State Prison in Warren, 186 miles from Houlton and 226 miles from Presque Isle.
SMRT Architects & Engineers, hired by the county this spring, will review proposals and decide on a location.
“I agree, it’s a really good plan,” said Councilor Jane Torres. “I can’t imagine why people wouldn’t read it and see how important it is to keep it in Houlton.”
