Officials in Lake County are looking at ways to expand their cramped courthouse in Polson after a retiring judge issued an order forcing the county to address the problem.
County Commissioner Bill Barron said the courthouse in Polson was spacious when it was first built in the 1930s but now it doesn’t have enough room to fit the court, county jail, sheriff’s office and county government offices. It’s gotten so bad that the sheriff has released citizens charged with felonies because there is just not enough room in the jail.
“We’re busting at the seams,” Barron said.
More than a decade ago, the state Legislature added a second district court judge in Lake County. With the addition of a second judge, the county agreed that it would remodel and expand its current courthouse.
Plans were drawn up for the addition, but it was pushed aside by the county commission because they were worried about the cost of the project. Since then, two district court judges and their staffs have shared an office meant for one.
In 2013, when District Court Judge C.B. McNeil retired, he issued an order forcing the county to hold up its end of the deal and expand the court. Now, the county is doing just that and a committee will be formed by the end of the month and it will meet with architects soon after.
Barron said the expansion would require a $17 million tax levy and that, since it’s a court-ordered initiative, it does not have to go to the public for a vote.
Undersheriff Dan Yonkin said overcrowding at the jail, which is located in the same building, has become a major issue because only 42 inmates can stay there at a time.
Yonkin said in some instances people with felony charges have had to be released. In one instance a man charged with a handful of misdemeanors was wanted for failing to appear in court. When police found him, the man led them on a high-speed motorcycle chase and eventually crashed into the side of one of the sheriff’s cruisers. Police took the man to the hospital, wrote him a ticket and released him.
“It’s a big problem because we have people who have committed crimes and yet we have no place to put them,” Yonkin said. “I’d love to have more space to meet the needs and expectations of our community.”
Judge Jim Manley practiced law in Lake County for three decades and said he never noticed the cramped quarters until he became a judge late last year. He said space issues in the courthouse are having a major impact on the legal process there. With two judges and one courtroom, each judge can only schedule trials for two weeks a month. He said because criminal trials take priority, some civil cases continue to get kicked down the road.
Barron said current plans call for the third floor of the courthouse, where district court is now located, to be remodeled and an annex be built on the building.
The commissioners and the rest of county government would then move into the new addition, leaving more room for the court, the county attorney’s office and the jail. He said he hopes to have plenty of input from local residents on the effort and gain their support.
“I think with a little education about the issue, the public will understand that this expansion must happen,” Barron said.