Flathead County commissioners hold public hearing regarding proposed prerelease center

KALISPELL — Flathead County Commissioners held a public hearing Thursday morning regarding a proposed prerelease center in Flathead County.

A prerelease center is a residential facility that helps individuals transition from incarceration to community living.

Kalispell resident Sarah Rolfing lives within walking distance of the proposed prerelease center on the border of Kalispell and Evergreen on East Oregon Street.

She gave public comment during Thursday's hearing in front of the Flathead County Commissioners voicing concerns about the proposal.

“Number one it’s in a residential community, there’s a lot of families, schools, a lot of commotion with kids on the streets walking around, there’s a multi-million-dollar housing project right across the street from this proposed facility which poses concerns economically as well,” said Rolfing.

Rolfing has started a petition opposing the location of the proposed prerelease center called “The Families First Kalispell” which has garnered more than 80 signatures.

She said the petition aims to show support for a prerelease center in Flathead County if the public gets a voice regarding where the proposed facility is located.

“The Department of Corrections should be encouraged by the fact that people believe this is important, that we do believe this is an important initiative, but hopefully they are willing to work with the community in a more direct way to actually find a location that would meet the needs of both stakeholders, the people involved in the program as well as the community that’s supporting it,” added Rolfing.

The state currently operates 10 prerelease centers throughout Montana but does not operate one in Flathead County.

Stephen Ferguson said time spent at a prerelease center in Great Falls helped change his life around. He drove up from Missoula to voice his support for the project.

“And coming from a place where I didn’t know how to reintegrate into society, I’m given a pathway to walk, and I have those structures in place and I’m much more likely to succeed in that,” said Ferguson.

If approved, the prerelease center would house 90 males and would be fully operated by the Department of Corrections.

Montana Department of Corrections Director Brian Gootkin said the state has looked at a number of proposed locations across Flathead County.

He said it’s impossible to find a location that would please everyone.

“When you find something and you find a good location and a good building, that’s really difficult to find and we were lucky enough to find this one so I would argue that if it were in a different community, that community would be here saying the exact same thing, so that’s the challenge and that’s the difficult conversation that we have to have,” said Gootkin.

The Flathead County Commissioners will vote on a resolution of support for the project on October 1, followed by A Board of Adjustments vote the same evening.