Swayed by Health Care Forums, Michigan Man to Hold 'Town Hall' on Gitmo Plan

The growth of town hall events as flash points in the intense debate over changes to the health care system has spawned a similar approach to the question of where the Guantanamo detainees should go.

In Standish, Mich., restaurant owner David Munson is organizing a community forum to oppose the potential transfer of prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the local prison, which is facing budget cuts and likely to shut it down.

"We don't want the Guantanamo people there," he told FOXNews.com. "And we felt like the situation was moving way too quickly to bring the Guantanamo people here."

Among those invited to Thursday's forum are Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, members of Congress and the wife of a pilot of one of the planes hijacked during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Munson, who has owned the Summer Trail Inn for 14 years, said he has been influenced by the town halls on health care being held this month across the country. Many of the lawmakers who support the Democratic plan to overhaul the system have been shouted down and their events disrupted by protesters.

"It influenced me to name it 'town hall' because it's sort of a buzzword," he said, adding that he's expecting at a capacity crowd of at least 600 residents.

The maximum-security prison about 145 miles northwest of Detroit and the military penitentiary at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., were named as among the sites being considered to house the detainees if the prison in Cuba is closed by early 2010, as ordered by Obama.

Public pressure is mounting to do something to save the Standish prison, the region's largest employer with about 340 workers. Arenac County's unemployment rate already is 17.3 percent and the prison could soon close in a round of state budget cuts.

Local residents want the prison to remain open, but some are skittish about the prospects of suspected terrorists being housed in their small, relatively rural town.

Granholm, echoing what appears to be the preferred option, has said she would rather take in prisoners from other states, such as California, than the Guantanamo detainees. But many in the area would be open to taking Gitmo prisoners if everything else fails.

Munson, who is also vice president of the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association, has lobbied lawmakers in Washington to keep the prison open. He initially favored bringing the Guantanamo prisoners there until he spoke to Rep. Pete Hoeskstra, R- Mich.

Hoekstra, he said, told him the presence of Gitmo detainees could endanger the lives of prison guards and their families as well as the entire community, which would become the target of jihadists.

Hoekstra will be one of three featured speakers at the town hall to be held at noon at Resurrection of the Lord Church, Munson said. Granholm will be a fourth speaker if she accepts the invitation, Munson said, but he has not heard from her or her office. FOXNews.com was unable to reach her office Tuesday evening.

Central to this debate over bringing the Gitmo detainees to Michigan is the number of jobs it will create or save.

Local officials say the Obama administration told them informally that if the Gitmo detainees were moved to the Standish Maximum Correctional Facility, it would provide between 1,250 to 3,000 jobs for 30 years.

But it is not clear whether that estimate is based on the prison holding Gitmo detainees or keeping the prison open for others.

Taking in prisoners from California or some other state could be the easiest, surest path to preserving the jobs at the Standish prison. Lawmakers and city officials say some or all of those workers could be replaced by federal Department of Defense employees if the Gitmo detainees are moved to Michigan.

"That's why we're having this discussion," Munson said, adding that residents need to get "informed."

FOX News' Jim Angle, FOXNews.com's Stephen Clark and The Associated Press contributed to this report.