Montana Highway Patrol headquarters move from Helena weighed

HELENA (AP) — Montana officials are discussing whether to move the state Highway Patrol headquarters from Helena to a town not far away.

The Montana Highway Patrol has been based near Interstate 15 in Helena since 1996 but the state lease there is expiring, the Helena Independent Record reports.

The facility isn't meeting the agency's needs but a state-owned facility in Boulder, 30 miles away, could be a good solution, Department of Justice spokesman Kyler Nerison said.

Boulder, population 870, is about halfway between Helena and Butte. The town until recently had Montana's only residential facility for people with severe developmental disabilities.

The Montana Development Center has been closed for the past few years, after its residents were transferred to community-based homes. Maintaining the center has continued to cost the state $1 million a year.

The center has several buildings housing a fitness center, gym, swimming pool, kitchen space, cafeteria, freezer, general store, mail room, recycling facility and classrooms.