MADISON TWP. — County officials broke ground on Sept. 4 on a major expansion to the Maurice Spear Campus, Lenawee County’s juvenile detention and rehabilitation facility.

In addition to expanding the number of young offenders who can be housed at the facility, the project includes a commercial kitchen that will serve senior citizens in the county by preparing meals for Lenawee County’s seven senior centers and its meal delivery program.

Speaking at the Sept. 4 event, county administrator Kim Murphy credited three people with leading the project: Maurice Spear Campus director Rodney Weaver, Lenawee County Department on Aging director Cari Rebottaro, and building and grounds superintendent Tim Mehan.

“These individuals came together and said ‘what if?’ ” she said.

Murphy said the project will serve two of the community’s most vulnerable populations — at-risk youth who are involved in the justice system, and the elderly population.

This extensive project will add 20 new beds to the 66-bed campus, allowing it to offer additional programming.

The detention unit expansion will:

• Add a wing for youth ages 15 and over with an additional 10 beds, safely separating the older population from those 10-14 years of age.
• Add a wing for youth with sexually harming behaviors, with an additional 10 beds, safely separating them from the other youth.
• Add an intake office.
• Add more recreation areas.
• Increase visitation and counseling rooms.
• Provide space for meals for the students in different areas, keeping groups of youth separated.
• Offer the space for additional programming.
• Update safety, security, and technology solutions.

The centralized kitchen will:

• Have 6,100 square feet of space, allowing for efficient flow in receiving, storing, cooking, preparing, and packing meals to be systematically delivered throughout Lenawee County.
• Provide meals for the youth housed at the Maurice Spear Campus.
• Serve each of the county’s seven senior centers for on-site congregate meals or take-out meals.
• Serve the Lenawee Department on Aging’s home-delivered meal program that delivers over 1,000 meals a day.

In addition, the kitchen will allow youth at the Maurice Spear Campus to receive on-the-job training toward earning food service certifications.

The $20 million cost is being paid for primarily through federal money from the American Rescue Plan Act, which was signed by President Joe Biden in 2021. 

The remainder of the funding will come from the Department on Aging and from the county’s capital improvement fund. Murphy said the county will not have to borrow money for the project.