The local working committee tasked with siting a Kalispell-area pre-release center on Thursday eliminated possible locations for the project south of downtown, instead deciding to focus their search on areas north of Evergreen.

Committee members hope to choose a geographical area for the pre-release center somewhere within a quarter mile on either side of U.S. 2 north of Rose Crossing and south of Montana 40.

Development on the east side of U.S. 2 south of Pioneer Road, however, is governed by the Helena Flats neighborhood plan and that area will not be considered for the project.

“We’re going to focus our efforts primarily north of town, and we have a preliminary map here to guide that discussion,” said committee member Nick Aemisegger, who chaired Thursday’s meeting.

While the committee will begin evaluating possible areas for the pre-release center sites somewhere inside the U.S. 2 corridor north of Evergreen, a more specific geographical area has yet to be chosen.  

“It simply means we’re going to take it to the next step and do a little more research to make sure it is the right site,” said Aemisegger, who runs the Kalispell public defender’s office. “By no means is that the area we’re going to settle on. What that looks like we can’t say at this point.”

Once the committee — appointed jointly by the city and county in January 2008 — does settle on a more specific geographic area, the Butte-based nonprofit contracted to run the facility will select a specific site.

The state will then commission a survey of nearby residents, who must approve the site before the project can go forward, said Diana Koch, chief legal counsel for the Montana Department of Corrections.

Community, Counseling and Correctional Services, which operates 12 detention or treatment facilities in three states, won the bid to operate the proposed 40-bed facility last December.

Should the nonprofit be unable to buy or build a facility within a reasonable range of its original proposal, which was site-specific, the project could be reopened to bidding.

The committee began considering a location for the center along U.S. 2 after voting not to pursue siting the project within a one-third mile corridor on the east side of U.S. 93 south of Snowline Lane.

“I certainly would not be in favor of putting it south of town,” said Flathead County Commissioner and committee member Jim Dupont. “I was a little surprised that an area south of town was proposed.”

In May, a survey of residents within a half mile of the previously proposed site — the old Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services building at 2282 U.S. 93 South — found that 74 percent of nearby property owners opposed the location, sinking the project in its final stage.

“As far as for south of town ... those people have spoken. I don’t think it’ll work,” said Flathead County Sheriff and committee member Mike Meehan.

State rules, which recently were revised, require that pre-release centers be located within a minimal response time from law enforcement agencies and have access to 24-hour fire and medical services.

In addition, the working committee implemented further restrictions barring the pre-release center from residentially zoned areas and from areas within 1,500 feet of a school.

A few members of the public attended the meeting, all opposed to the project.

“Even though we’re not a city ... I want to tell you right now ... that we are not in favor of you going north,” said Evergreen resident Pam Holmquist.

Davar Gardner, of Gardner RV on U.S. 93 South, also voiced disapproval of a pre-release center for the Kalispell area.

“I just don’t think we need it and I have yet to talk with anyone who thinks it’s a good idea for this valley,” he said.

Pre-release centers hold inmates nearing the end of their prison sentences and help them readjust gradually into society. Residents, whose average stay is six months, receive treatment, counseling, job training and placement services.

Flathead County has more than 1,300 people in the state corrections system and is the only large county in Montana without a pre-release center. Lake and Lincoln counties have contributed about another 650 offenders.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com