Prerelease Center Proposal Rejected in Flathead County

The Flathead County Board of Adjustments on Tuesday night unanimously denied a conditional use permit for a Montana Department of Corrections (MDOC) prerelease center that was proposed in Evergreen at the existing Greenwood Village Inn and Suites.

Board members Cal Dyck, Tom Davis and Tobias Lichti cited inadequate access to the facility that would have caused traffic congestion, a negative economic impact to neighbors and said it would have added more pressure on the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office. Committee members Jim Dyon and Roger Noble were absent.

The conditional use permit was rejected after the Flathead County Board of Commissioners approved the permit’s consideration of adoption in a 2-1 vote on Oct. 1. Commissioners Randy Brodehl and Brad Abell supported the prerelease center while Pam Holmquist voted in opposition.

The prerelease center would have replaced the existing Greenwood Village Inn and Suites in Evergreen on East Oregon Street with a 90-bed facility designed to provide a step-down program for male offenders to reintegrate into the community following their sentences.

Board of Adjustments members supported the concept of a prerelease center, but said the limited road access on East Oregon Street would bring a high volume of traffic to the adjacent mobile home park and it was not an appropriate land use in the neighborhood.

“Even though I think the prerelease facility is a good thing, it doesn’t necessarily capture a lot in my decision making,” Davis said. “I’m mostly looking at if it’s the right fit for the neighborhood.”

Board members also considered the facility’s location on the Kalispell-Evergreen border, its proximity to schools, and the added burden it could place on law enforcement.

“What I see right there is that unique area is almost a no-man’s zone between Kalispell and the county. … It’s a really unique dynamic, not including the impact or the safety,” Dyck said.

Prior to the decision, community members were given a final opportunity to submit public comment following several meetings in recent weeks. While many residents supported the prerelease center to help reduce recidivism and add to the workforce, dozens of neighbors opposed the facility in the Greenwood Village Inn and Suites location.

“I guess my biggest concern is not so much the prerelease center – it would be great, but not in this location,” Terry Mowrer said.

Flathead County Jail Commander Jennifer Root said she supports a prerelease center to help reduce recidivism in the area and she responded to residents’ anxieties surrounding the center’s proximity to neighborhoods and schools.

“I want to remind everyone that at our jail we probably release 2- to 300 people per month and we’re close to St. Matthew’s School … lots of residential areas and we don’t have any issues of people being released from our facility and bonding out and getting out into the community and committing crimes within the area. Honestly, if they want to get out and if they’re going to walk away from a prerelease center, they’re going to get as far away as they possibly can.”

The state currently contracts with organizations to operate seven centers in Billings, Butte, Bozeman, Great Falls, Helena and Missoula, but this would have been the only state-run center.

According to MDOC officials, Flathead County offenders, which account for 14.4% of the Montana State Prison population, are currently sent to other statewide prerelease centers far from their homes, which creates barriers when they return to the Flathead.

Prerelease centers are designed to transition offenders back into the community with a six-month program that requires participants to work full time and receive appropriate treatments under heavy supervision.

In 2023, the Montana Legislature set aside $7.1 million for a prerelease center in northwest Montana and the MDOC has been searching for a location since last year.

A facility was originally proposed in 2009 in Flathead County but never materialized.

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