Department of Corrections ‘Reentry Center’ to Open Oct. 27 in Evergreen
Historically known as a prerelease center, the 90-bed facility and step-down program for male offenders is on track to begin reintegrating inmates into the community at the former Greenwood Inn and Suites in Evergreen
By Maggie Dresser
Montana Department of Corrections (MDOC) officials are on schedule to open a 90-bed “reentry center” on Oct. 27 at the former Greenwood Inn and Suites in Evergreen, which is currently undergoing a remodel to serve as a step-down program that will house male offenders.
Jim Sanderson, the facility’s operations manager, on Sept. 16 told the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce luncheon audience he will ensure public safety is the main priority of the facility. As he works to hire staff for the center, Sanderson said the MDOC is also investing in high-tech cameras while bringing in resources like a transportation system, job coordination and rehabilitation programs.
The reentry center, which has historically been known as a prerelease center, received widespread opposition from Flathead Valley residents and was subject to a lawsuit when the Flathead County Board of Adjustment denied the facility’s conditional use permit.
Sanderson acknowledged the community’s concerns, reiterated the center’s importance for reducing recidivism, and assured the audience the convicts would be closely monitored at its East Oregon Street location.
“The alternative to a reentry system is pretty stark,” Sanderson said. “Many people without a reentry center will be sent to a reentry center in another part of the state and then they’re truly not being reentered into this community attached to the appropriate followup services.”
Sanderson said there will be intensive supervision at the facility and MDOC recently hired a program addict and treatment chief and a security chief with open positions including security officers, case managers and rehabilitative specialists.
The reentry center will also have probation and parole officers on site along with a Montana Department of Labor and Industry job service staff member working to connect inmates with job opportunities while educating employers.
“They are felons – they’ve committed mistakes and they got caught and they’ve also been sentenced,” Sanderson said. “But while they’re at the reentry center, there’s one thing that happens – if they don’t show up for work, now they’re an escaped felon, so you can be pretty certain that they’re going to show up for work most of the time.”
The MDOC is hosting open houses from Oct. 21-23 for members of the community to visit the center.
The reentry center is scheduled to open just a week before the general election on Nov. 4 when voters will decide for or against a $105 million jail bond for a new public safety facility on 225 Snowline Lane in Lower Valley that will house 200 inmates.
If passed, a home with a taxable value of $100,000 in fiscal year 2025/2026 will cost a taxpayer $11.13 per year; a $300,000 home would cost $33.38; and a $600,000 home would cost $76.72.
Law enforcement officials spoke at the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce luncheon to educate the public about the long-overdue facility upgrade, which has not kept up with the area’s population growth.
Built in 1987, the current jail on Main Street originally housed 63 inmates and increased to 154 beds after an expansion in 2018. However, the facility can only operate at roughly 75% due to the high volume of mentally ill or violent inmates who require additional space.
“We’ve probably all been impacted by the mental health crisis we have in our county and so those individuals that come into our jail – each one easily takes up two to three beds for just that one inmate,” Jail Commander Jenny Root said.
In addition to the limited capacity, Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino said the jail’s current linear design on multiple floors is inefficient and unsafe for detention staff, many of whom are fresh high school graduates and regularly deal with high-risk and violent inmates.
“Our goal is we want people to have a valuable and safe career in our facility and again – these are 18-year-old kids, so the increased safety is the biggest one,” Heino said.
The jail bond comes nearly a decade after county commissioners began planning the new public safety facility, which Heino said was estimated to cost about $50 million in 2017 before building costs skyrocketed.
“So, the longer we wait, the more this is going to cost – and the jail continues to worsen,” Heino said. “If the bond does not pass in November, we will have to find solutions because we still have to operate on a daily basis.”