Evergreen Neighbors Residing Near Proposed Prerelease Center Oppose Location
Residents living near the proposed prerelease center at the Greenwood Village Inn and Suites property cited concerns over offender-caused disruptions and the potential devaluation of their properties if the facility is approved
By Maggie Dresser
Flathead Valley residents at a Tuesday night meeting told Montana Department of Corrections (MDOC) officials they would feel unsafe if a proposed prerelease center was established in their neighborhood located off of U.S. Highway 2 in Evergreen.
State officials have applied for a conditional use permit with Flathead County to operate a prerelease residential facility for 90 male convicts in the existing Greenwood Village Inn and Suites property located at 1150 E. Oregon Street.
The proposal heads to the Flathead County commissioners for approval on Thursday, Sept. 26, followed by a Board of Adjustments meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
There are currently 10 prerelease centers across Montana, however, none exist in northwest Montana and the MDOC has identified the Flathead Valley as a region in need of a facility. The state contracts with nonprofit organizations to operate centers in Billings, Butte, Bozeman, Great Falls, Helena and Missoula.
A prelease center was originally proposed in 2009 in Flathead County but never came to fruition.
Prerelease centers are designed to transition offenders back into the community with a six-month program that requires participants to work fulltime and seek appropriate treatments like anger management or cognitive behavioral therapy while living in the facility.
In 2023, the Montana Legislature set aside $7 million for a prerelease center in northwest Montana.
According to Montana Department of Commerce data, Flathead County is the fourth most populous county in the state with 113,679 residents trailing behind Missoula, Gallatin and Yellowstone counties.
The City of Kalispell’s population increased 4.5% in 2023 over the prior year and based on estimated growth, the MDOC anticipates the offender population from the area to also grow.
Sentencing data during the period of July 1, 2023 through June 14, 2024 revealed that 154 offenders committed to the MDOC for a full or partial custodial sentence were based out of Flathead, Lake and Lincoln counties.
“This is the only large urban area in the state that doesn’t have one,” MDOC Rehabilitation and Programs CEO Scott Eychner said. “We want to put people in situations where they are successful, and release them where they have a support system to where they can be transitioned back into the community. Kalispell doesn’t have anything like that – everybody goes somewhere else and then comes back here.”
Dozens of residents appeared at the public meeting to voice their opposition to the prerelease center, expressing concerns about convicted felons residing in their neighborhood. Many neighbors acknowledge the value of prerelease centers but said the Greenwood Inn was not the right location due to its proximity to Woodland Park, the Parkline Trail and the dozens of marijuana dispensaries in Evergreen.
“If these people do leave the center and take off running – they may run through the community,” Cliff Piland said. “They may stop at my house. Am I going to be sleeping in there when they come in the back door? Or are they going to be in one of your houses? That’s my biggest concern. We need to help everybody we can … hopefully we can provide that environment for these people somewhere else.”
But Eychner assured residents that the program participants would be in a highly structured environment with intense supervision.
“A prerelease is a very structured stepdown community reintegration model that Montana uses for people leaving DOC care in some fashion and is transitioning back into the community,” Eychner said.
Eychner said the MDOC has been searching for a property to transform into a facility but have been left with few options due to the limited budget. The Greenwood Village Inn and Suites provided them with ADA accommodations and existing sliding doors that are easy to secure.
Additionally, all prerelease participants are required to work fulltime, which spread optimism among some residents who have struggled to hire employees.
“That would be a good thing for me as a businessman – to have 90 men who would have to show up for work and if they didn’t do they’re work, they’d be in trouble,” Joe Clark said. “I’m very, very in favor of a prerelease.”