Montana considers four bids

The Montana Department of Corrections considered four bids to build a 40-bed pre-release center near Kalispell during a public meeting Wednesday in Helena.

The center would be managed by the state, but a private nonprofit group would be contracted to build and operate it. The Legislature has appropriated $1.9 million to fund the proposed facility for its first year.

Competing bids included a potential site for the facility and a proposed per diem rate (the fee paid by the state per day to the contractor for each inmate housed).

The Department of Corrections considered bids from:

. Community, Counseling and Correctional Services Inc., which proposed a facility at 2282 U.S. 93 South at a per diem rate of $86.23. The Butte-based nonprofit runs 12 detention or treatment facilities in three states, including pre-release centers for men and women in Butte, a juvenile detention center in Washington state, and the WATCh program for felony DUI offenders in Warm Springs.

. Community Solutions of Montana, which proposed a facility at 30 Lower Valley Road at a per diem rate of $64.95. The Montana-based nonprofit runs the Billings pre-release center.

. Missoula Correctional Services Inc., which proposed a facility at 2640 U.S. 93 South at a per diem rate of $138 in the first year and $104 in the second year. The Missoula-based nonprofit runs the Missoula pre-release center.

. Volunteers of America, which proposed a facility at 425 Snowline Lane at a per diem rate of $77. The nonprofit organization runs pre-release centers, day reporting programs, addiction treatment centers, veterans services, and other social services throughout the country.

Pre-release centers hold prison inmates nearing the end of their sentences. They are designed to help inmates hold jobs and gradually re-enter the community under strict supervision. Some offenders, however, are sentenced directly to pre-release facilities.

The bids were ranked Wednesday by a three-member panel composed of an official from the Department of Corrections, an executive from the company that runs the Helena pre-release center and a treatment center in Boulder, and Flathead County Commissioner Dale Lauman, who also sits on the local pre-release center working committee.

The panel ranked the bid from Community Solutions of Montana the highest, followed by the proposals from Community, Counseling and Correctional Services Inc. and Missoula Correctional Services Inc., which were within a percentage point of each other.

Community Corrections of Montana came out on top because of its low per diem rate, the most heavily weighted factor, Lauman said.

"Otherwise, the other two rated higher in the other criteria," said Lauman. "So it makes an interesting situation. I could be satisfied with any of these three corporations. I believe they could all run a good facility."

Even though the proposal from Community Solutions of Montana received the highest grade, the Department of Corrections will negotiate with all four bidders, ask questions, and request certain modifications to the proposals, according to Department of Corrections contracts manager Kerry Pribnow.

The winning bid may not be announced for as long as two weeks, and is not guaranteed to be the proposal initially graded the highest, Pribnow said.

Corrections officials have emphasized that, because of Kalispell and Flathead County zoning ordinances, the facility would not be placed in a residential area. In addition, the state has strict guidelines about how close to schools and parks a pre-release center can be placed.

But state requirements also include access to city sewer and water and a limit on emergency response times. Pre-release center inmates generally aren't allowed to drive, requiring proximity to job centers and public transportation.

Community Solutions of Montana and Community, Counseling and Correctional Services Inc. proposed buying existing buildings on Lower Valley Road and U.S. 93 South, respectively. Missoula Correctional Services Inc. proposed building a new facility on U.S. 93 South, which may have contributed to its higher per diem rate, Lauman said.

A local 12-member working committee, appointed jointly by the Kalispell City Council and Flathead County commissioners in January, was tasked with determining whether there is sufficient public support for the project and, if so, where the facility should be placed.

After a public meeting at the Flathead County Fairgrounds in May and a telephone opinion poll of Kalispell-area residents conducted a few weeks later by the Montana State University-Billings returned positive results, the Department of Corrections began seeking bids.

When a bid is accepted, the working committee will hold another public meeting and conduct another survey to determine whether the proposed site is endorsed by the community. Should its site be rejected, the winning bidder will be required to propose a new one, Pribnow said.

Flathead County has about 1,300 people in the state corrections system - the fourth highest of any county in Montana. Lake and Lincoln counties contribute another 650 offenders.

Because there is no pre-release center here, about 80 offenders from this region are in other centers across the state. Flathead County is the only large county without a pre-release facility.

In the past seven years, more than 900 offenders from Flathead County have spent time in pre-release centers at Missoula, Bozeman, Butte, Billings, Helena and Great Falls.

Corrections officials have said that a Flathead County pre-release center wouldn't import offenders from other communities; it would handle offenders from the Flathead who are currently diverted to other centers. A local board would have the final decision in accepting or denying an offender's participation in the program, including sex offenders.

Employers also benefit from having pre-release centers in their communities, officials said. They provide workers who are required to show up sober for work and, as a result, can pay taxes, fines and restitution, child support and their own medical expenses.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com