1/21/13 - Demolition continues on the site of the former Camp Brighton women's prison in Hamburg Township. The facility on Chambers Road inside the Brighton Recreation Area had been the target of frequent vandalism as well as a favorite place to steal building materials, most especially the copper piping, but also other metal products that can be sold for scrap. The demolition is being paid for with $400,000 in funding from the Michigan Department of Corrections that came about after a considerable bureaucratic debate over which state agency was responsible for the site. While the MDOC owned the buildings, the land itself was owned by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. To complicate matters, the ownership of the buildings was transferred to the Department of Management and Budget when the prison closed in 2007. The funding came about after local lawmakers, including State Representatives Bill Rogers and Cindy Denby, and State Senator Joe Hune, pushed through legislation authorizing it. Once completed, the demolition will remove not only what has been an eyesore for Hamburg Township officials, but also a drain on their budgets for policing the property including frequent repairs to the fencing put up by the state when they closed the facility. Picture courtesy of Hamburg Township. (JK)
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