Prerelease center lawsuit settlement goes before county board

A settlement agreement in a lawsuit filed by the state against Flathead County for rejecting the opening of prerelease center in Evergreen will be considered by a county board.  

The state Department of Corrections filed a lawsuit in Flathead County District Court last year after the Flathead County Board of Adjustment in October denied a conditional use permit for the center proposed for the Greenwood Village Inn & Suites hotel. 

The Board of Adjustment is set to hold a public hearing on the agreement March 25 and then vote on the document April 1. Both meetings are at 6 p.m. in the second floor conference room of the South Campus Building, 40 11th St. W., Kalispell.  

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

The settlement agreement submitted to the county by Charity Yonker, attorney for the Department of Corrections, seeks to update the findings of the original decision to say that the 3-acre site is suitable for the center, parking and traffic plans would meet standards, and the property has adequate availability of public services.  

The Board of Adjustments rejected the center following board discussions claiming 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 associated traffic. 

In addition, the department in the agreement proposes to impose two conditions of approval on the permit. One would stipulate that vehicles associated with the center use the northwest road that runs along the edge of the neighborhood adjacent to the site.  

The other would require the state to execute a memorandum of understanding with Flathead County that would provide a minimum of 10 calendar days notification to the county prior to the placement of an offender at the prerelease center. A draft memo says that a state liaison would notify a county liaison allowing for the county to provide comments or concerns. However, the state would still retain the decision of whether an offender would be placed at the center.  

The county commissioners previously supported the center in a vote required under state law.  

Residents living near the hotel expressed concerns about the center while business owners said the center would provide an opportunity to hire individuals residing there. 

Three Flathead County District Court judges and the county jail commander supported the center during public hearings. But Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino expressed concern that the center would mean increased work for his office.  

The state alleges in its lawsuit that the Board of Adjustment denial last year was an abuse of its discretion, and it acted beyond its legal authority when it “resorted to speculation lacking in facts and foundation” as part of the decision.    

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 number of offenders from the Flathead area in centers around the state.    

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.