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JULY 31, 2024 Vol. 43, No. 16
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See CONTRACT on page 18A
Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel, left, and Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham drive sledgehammers into the Jail Annex building on July 19. The ceremonial demolition, followed by the start of the actual demolition on July 22, is the latest step in the construction of the new central intake and assessment center. Photo by Dean Vaglia
Demolition of old county jail buildings underway WING FOCUSED ON MENTAL HEALTH TO BE BUILT BY DEAN VAGLIA dvaglia@candgnews.com
MOUNT CLEMENS — For about a year, Macomb County’s top elected officials have dreamed and debated about tearing down old buildings at the Macomb County Jail. On a hot morning July 19 while wearing 10-gallon hardhats, the county’s executive and sheriff finally got their wish. Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel
and Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham bashed the first hole into the wall of the Macomb County Jail Annex, ceremonially beginning demolition and paving the way for a new jail building to be built. Hackel and Wickersham were joined by Macomb County Board of Commissioners Chair Don Brown and contractors to mark the occasion. “Demolition is starting today,” Hackel said. “This is the groundbreaking — this is actually See JAIL on page 10A
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MOUNT CLEMENS — After years of research, planning, work sessions, lobbying, fighting and setbacks, the future of water in the Macomb County seat began at the July 15 Mount Clemens City Commission meeting. Commissioners voted unanimously to award Dan’s Excavating, Inc. of Shelby Township a $36,238,263 contract to construct the necessary improvements to Mount Clemens’ water infrastructure to facilitate connecting Mount Clemens to the Great Lakes Water Authority system. The high cost of the work will be partially shouldered by a low-interest loan from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. The DWSRF loan, applied for in May 2023, will see the state provide the city with $42 million, which is paired with $20 million of principal forgiveness. “It seems a shame that a project this big could be summed up in a paragraph, because this thing actually started long before May 15, 2023,”