The Montana Department of Corrections is suing the Flathead County Board of Adjustment, that voted unanimously to deny the request to convert the Greenwood Village Inn & Suites into a Pre-release Center. Corrections Department attorneys, Charity Yonker and Andreas Haladay say the Board, “engaged in irrelevent discussions, speculated in the absence of fact and made a pretextual determination to deny” their application. The Department of Corrections is asking Flathead District Judge Amy Eddy to reverse the Board’s decision.
It should be pointed-out that the Board of Adjustment is made up a citizens who have little or no experience or training in land-use regulations.
On the KGEZ Good Morning Show, County Commissioner Randy Brodehl tells us having a Pre-release center in an offender’s home town is important to total rehabilitation. Once immersed in his hometown, he’s exposed to the tendencies that got him into trouble in the first place. The Pre-release center keeps tabs on him, giving him support to find new friends, get a decent job and be reunited with family.
The Department of Corrections tells us Flathead County accounts for a little less than 15% of the inmate population at their Deer Lodge facility. D-O-C has $7.1-million available to develop a Pre-release Center in Kalispell.
Prior to the Board of Adjustment’s denial of the application, the County Commissioners had approved the plan, with Commissioners Brodehl and Brad Abell in favor. Commissioner Pam Holmquist voted no, siding with the concerns of the neighbors.
Sheriff Brian Heino, understanding the importance of bringing people back into mainstream society, wants the program tailored to the needs of the neighbors. He said he doesn’t want high-risk inmates or sexual offenders in the Pre-release Center.
