Evergreen residents offer mixed opinions on prerelease facility plans

Neighbors of a proposed prerelease facility in Evergreen are showing strong opposition to the center, while some business owners said such a facility could provide an opportunity to hire employees who are in short supply.  

The Montana Department of Corrections wants to turn the former Greenwood Village Inn & Suites hotel into a 90-bed prerelease facility. The state agency has applied for a conditional use permit with Flathead County to make that happen.  

It was standing room only as county commissioners on Thursday heard about two hours of public comment on the proposal at the historic courthouse. 

B.J. Lupton said placing the facility at the East Oregon Street site would be a mistake.  

“You have no idea how fragile the Evergreen community is,” Lupton said. “The additional crime that will come from this is a certainty. Our anxiety about this is real. Evergreen can’t handle it.”  

However, Steve Wilkons of Glacier Stone Supply located near the proposed location, said he would welcome the opportunity to employ residents of the center.  

“I understand the neighbors' concerns, but we’re short-staffed,” he said. “We are able to provide people with jobs that have health care and a 401K." 

Commissioners are expected to vote on the prerelease center at 9:15 a.m. on Oct. 1. If approved, then it would go to the county Board of Adjustment for a vote that same day at 6 p.m. 

The Montana Legislature last year set aside $7.1 million in funding for a prerelease center in Kalispell.  If the plan is approved by the county, the department expects to close on the property by the end of October and the facility would likely be operational within six months, according to department officials.  

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.  

The state agency contracts with nonprofit organizations to run the other prerelease centers but says it will operate the Kalispell location.  

Brian Gootkin, Department of Corrections director, said he too was skeptical of prerelease centers while serving as the Gallatin County sheriff, but has since come around to the facilities as the “safest way to reintegrate people into the community.” 

“There are benefits to Flathead County in terms of public safety,” he said. “Most people are coming back into your community anyway and through this they are coming back through a step-down program that provides structure, a requirement to have a job and save money for housing. Otherwise, there’s no support for these people.”  

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.  

Three Flathead County District Court Judges Robert Allison, Heidi Ulbricht and Danni Coffman told commissioners they support a prerelease center for Kalispell.  

“I’ve supported this for a long time even before I was a judge,” Allison said. “I think it actually enhances security in the neighborhood as there are a lot of uniformed people in the neighborhood because of this.”  

“This is a good step-down program to have because people still have accountability,” Ulbricht said. “Our community desperately needs this.” 

“From a practical standpoint, a prelease center is so much better for reintegrating people back into the community with support and supervision,” Coffman said.  

A sticking point for several neighbors was the potential for increased crime because of the center. The recidivism rate for those in prerelease centers is about 13%, while those leaving prison and going out directly into the community is over 30%, according to department officials.  

Neighbors also worried about increased traffic, loss of their neighborhood and a decrease in property values that could result.  

Dusty Emmert with Snyder Construction Group and a partner in Greenway Development Group which is constructing the Parkline Towers across U.S. 2 said the prerelease center could be a detriment to future tenants of the development.  

“Our construction company has partnered with these prerelease centers in other states for workers, so I’m in support of the idea, but my concern is this specific site,” he said. “When we went through the city [of Kalispell] we wanted affordable housing, but the city wanted this site to be a gateway to the city and redesigned the project to be more of a luxury housing.” 

Having worked in the past with residents of prerelease centers through jail ministry, Joy Gratny said she’s seen firsthand the benefits of facilities for assisting those looking to return to their community.  

“I’m excited about this,” she said. “We need to fill low-income and labor jobs. If they are going to come back to this community is much better to do so through prerelease rather than going through the program in a town, you’re not planning to live in.”  

The state agency has said there’s a need for a center in Kalispell after looking at the number of offenders who are from the Flathead region in other prerelease centers.  
About 130 individuals currently in prerelease centers in the state are from the Flathead area, pointed out Dave Castro, regional deputy chief of Montana Probation and Parole.  

Of the roughly 2,400 individuals in prerelease centers in 2023 there were only 50 individuals who walked away from centers, Castro noted, while detailing a list of procedures that are followed to track down those individuals who leave unscheduled.  

Scott Eychner, the department’s Rehabilitation and Programs CEO, said the hotel site provides the department with a building that wouldn’t require much in the way of renovation, is ADA compliant and has limited entrances and exits with the ability to have group spaces. He said the center would also look at putting in a fence between the center and the adjacent mobile home park. 

After one year, he said, the center would be reviewed again by the county to ensure that it's meeting all the conditions put in place for the permit.  

The state has entered a buy-sell agreement for the almost 3-acre property owned by White Chip, LLC, contingent on approval of the center, according to an application with the county Planning Department. The 47-room hotel would be repurposed to be used as the center, but the adjacent RV park would remain.    

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