Gitmo or no? House panel hears testimony on whether to move prisoners to Standish

State Reps. Joel Sheltrown (D-West Branch), Jeff Mayes (D-Bay City) and Tim Moore (R-Farwell) testify Wednesday before a state House subcommittee about new uses for the prison in Standish. (Photo by Todd A. Heywood/Michigan Messenger)

LANSING — A hearing today by state legislators about using surplus state jail space to house out-of-state prisoners or foreign terrorist detainees left more questions than answers for lawmakers and residents of Standish, which has been cited as a possible new home for those currently held at Guantanamo Bay.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm ordered the maximum-security prison facility in the Arenac County town of 1,200 closed in order to save money in a tight budget crisis. But in June, the governor announced she was negotiating with California to possibly house low to medium security risk prisoners in the Standish facility.

Wednesday morning, the state House Judiciary Committee’s corrections reform subcommittee held a two-hour hearing into the proposed uses of the facility.

“There has been a lack of communication from the federal government and the state of Michigan of what the plans are,” said Rep. Tim Moore, a Republican from Farwell. Moore noted that the region’s top priority was keeping the prison open, preferably by housing out of state inmates. He said housing the Guantanamo prisoners would mean that the prison would be taken over and run by the Defense Department. While that would mean a net growth of jobs from the approximate 350 positions currently running the facility to 500 to 1000, Moore noted those would end up being federal employees.

Moore said the impact on the prison closing economically would be deadly to the region, noting the area is already struggling under a 16.7 percent unemployment rate.

Some, like Standish business owner and resident Dave Munson, worry that moving foreign detainees to the area will make the town a target for terrorism.

“California prisoners are Americans. The Gitmo prisoners are jihadists. There’s a big difference,” Munson said.

The bar owner said he keeps a coffin near his bar to remind residents of what will happen if the prison closes, but he said federalizing the prison will cause undue stress in the community.

“If this becomes a federal institution or a military installation, they’re going to want safe zones,” Munson said, talking about cleared-out regions surrounding a prison for security purposes. That, he said, is going to lead the federal government seizing property to expand the security cordon, which residents will not like. “They’re not going to want to give up their land to house jihadists.”

“I don’t believe terrorists are super human,” said Rep. Joel Sheltrown, a Democrat from West Branch. “They are no more dangerous than the Crips and the Bloods. The gangs in California might cause a more dangerous situation [than Guantanamo prisoners].”

Standish City Manager Mike Moran said he did not think security would be an issue, noting the super max federal prison in Colorado — home to people like the Unibomber and the Blind Sheik — did not have any different security issues than other prisons.

“We’re an area where all the people who live in the area are hunters,” Moran noted in downplaying security concerns.

Joseph Sancimino, an Arenac County commissioner who represents Standish, said he doesn’t want Guantanamo prisoners in the prison.

“It’s going to change the way we live,” Sancimino told the subcommittee. “I want Gitmo off the table because it diverts attention from California.”

Sancimino noted a federal judge ruled last week California had to stop triple-bunking prisoners, giving the state 45 days to come up with an alternative housing plan for about 40,000 inmates.

But Curt Hillman, Standish Township supervisor, said if the prison closes, he will have option but to “pack my bags and leave.”

Hillman said he was part of the group that lobbied the state for the prison in the first place, and fought through what he called a “not in my backyard” mentality then. And the concerns raised about safety and security then are the same being raised today with issues around moving Guantanamo prisoners to the area. He said none of those concerns had panned out then, and he doesn’t think they will now either.

“Something is better than nothing,” Hillman said. “We were promised this prison is recession proof.”

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story attributed a quote — “I don’t believe terrorists are super human. They are no more dangerous than the Crips and the Bloods. The gangs in California might cause a more dangerous situation [than Guantanamo prisoners]” — to Rep. Jeff Mayes of Bay City when it should have been attributed to Rep. Joel Sheltrown, a Democrat from West Branch. This story has been updated to correct the record.