State sues Flathead County over prerelease center decision

The Montana Department of Corrections is suing Flathead County for refusing to allow a prerelease center to operate in Evergreen.  

The state has filed a lawsuit in Flathead County District Court alleging that the county Board of Adjustments, which voted on Oct. 1 to deny a conditional use permit for the center, “abused its discretion when it acted beyond its legal authority” and “resorted to speculation lacking in facts and foundation” as part of the decision.  

The Department of Corrections has sought to turn the former Greenwood Village Inn & Suites hotel on East Oregon Street into a 90-bed prerelease facility. The Montana Legislature last year set aside $7.1 million in funding for a prerelease center in Kalispell.   

The county commissioners supported the center in a vote required under state law. However, the county Board of Adjustments turned it down following board discussions that law enforcement services are inadequate to serve the center, that the center would have a negative impact on the neighborhood and that the site could not accommodate the traffic associated with the center.  

In the lawsuit filed Oct. 31 by attorneys Andres Haladay and Charity N. Yonker, the state alleges that the board abused its discretion by denying the permit, making unsupported findings regarding its decision and violated due process by failing to consider all public comments made before county commissioners not just select comments. 

The state is asking for the court to reverse the board’s denial and order the issuance of a permit for the center.  

During a Montana Legislature public safety interim budget committee meeting on Dec. 16, Brian Gootkin, Department of Corrections director, referenced the lawsuit saying that the department isn’t done with a facility in the Flathead is in negotiations with the county, and he is optimistic a resolution can be found.  

“The last thing we want to do is go to court and spend taxpayer money fighting each other,” he said. “We are working really, really hard to avoid that and become a good partner in that community.” 

Residents living near the hotel expressed concerns about the center including the potential for an increase in crime. However, business owners said during public hearings they would welcome hiring individuals residing at the center.    

The state, in outlining its position in the lawsuit, alleges that the board unreasonably concluded that law enforcement services are lacking because the board “did not receive any such evidence, facts or testimony from the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office.” It also asserts that the board allegedly reached outside its bounds when it discussed comments by Sheriff Brian Heino before the county commissioners meeting when he said he sees the need for a prerelease center but had general concerns.  

The board allegedly ignored testimony from the Department of Corrections that the center would have an extra layer of security because a state Probation and Parole satellite office would be located at the center, according to documents.  

The suit states that one board member speculated that there could be financial impact to surrounding property owners because of the center, but the board had no evidence to back that up. In addition, it notes that one board member allegedly opposed the center based on public health and wellbeing when there are no criteria in county zoning regarding that. 

Finally, the board noted concerns about the impact of traffic from the center as a reason for denial, but the lawsuit says the hotel at the site generates 376 average daily trips while the center would generate 104 average daily trips. 

The lawsuit alleges that the board made its decision by “unreasonably relying on speculation lacking in fact and foundation.”  

There are 10 prerelease centers in the state. However, there are none serving Northwest Montana, and the Department of Corrections says the area needs a facility based on the region’s population and figures that show about 130 offenders in June were in centers around the state from the Flathead area.   

Prerelease centers are designed to assist offenders with their transition from a secure facility back into the community and provide an alternative to incarceration. While in the prerelease center, residents live at the facility but travel out into the community according to an approved schedule for work, education, treatment and counseling, and community service.     

Deputy Editor Heidi Desch may be reached at 758-4421 or hdesch@dailyinterlake.com.