Flathead County board rejects prerelease center

The Flathead County Board of Adjustment on Tuesday shot down a proposal by the state to open a prerelease center in Evergreen.  

The board voted unanimously to deny a conditional use permit for the facility. The Montana Department of Corrections had planned to turn the former Greenwood Village Inn & Suites hotel on East Oregon Street into a 90-bed prerelease facility.  

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

Earlier in the day Flathead County commissioners voted 2-1 to support the center. The vote was required under state law. Commissioners Randy Brodehl and Brad Abell voted in favor, while Commissioner Pam Holmquist voted against.  

Noting that neighbors would likely oppose a prerelease center no matter where it’s located, Abell said county needs the facility.   

“Flathead County is not taking care of the people right now who are being released from prison,” he said. “These are people who haven’t developed the skills to integrate back into a civil society. Prerelease centers better equip people to come back into society by giving them life and job skills.” 

After asking several questions of a Department of Corrections representative, Brodehl seemed to support the proposal reluctantly after hearing how the state agency would communicate with neighbors and how residents at the center would be monitored.  

"Understand that this is a very heavy decision for us to make,” he said.  

Holmquist said there is already a shortage of mental health counseling and other services in the community so the center would put further strain on the system and set those in the center up for failure. 

“I think the public expressed some legitimate concerns,” she added. “I don’t think the center fits in this location. Until there are services, I can’t support this, and I can’t support this in a highly populated area.” 

The Montana Legislature last year set aside $7.1 million in funding for a prerelease center in Kalispell. 

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.    

Heavy opposition arose to a proposed prerelease center on U.S. 93 South in Kalispell in 2009, ending the project. 

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