City leaves door open to assess applications

HAYDEN — The city of Hayden has voiced an objection to having a state prison re-entry facility in Hayden.

In a letter sent last week to Idaho Department of Correction, City Administrator Brett Boyer said the city “would be strongly opposed to (such a) facility being constructed and operated within the city.”

But that’s philosophically, according to the letter. If Correction were to override city objections, Boyer wrote, “the city will assess and judge any application submitted at that time ...”

The correspondence was initiated after legislators last year accepted a $12 million proposal to build a prison pre-release center in North Idaho.

North Idaho lawmakers voted for the proposal, they said, without knowing where the facility would be built.

Hayden Council Member Matt Roetter, a vocal opponent of having a prison pre-release center in Hayden, fought a similar proposal 20 years ago by Idaho Department of Correction. This time around he asked the council to take a stand on the matter.

Roetter said the facilities, which house inmates and are supposed to help them transition back into society when their sentences are over, are not safe. Last fall, Roetter said almost a half dozen inmates walked away from southern Idaho re-entry centers in the past couple years.

After hearing Roetter’s opposition, the City Council opted to gather more information before making a decision.

According to IDOC, the proposed pre-release center will have a capacity of between 100 and 130, reserved for Panhandle inmates. It would provide counseling, job opportunities, daily drug testing and a softer re-entry into society that reduces the chance for recidivism.

IDOC already operates four facilities in southern Idaho and is building another one in Twin Falls. So far, the department has no re-entry center in North Idaho.

In an earlier interview, Josh Tewalt, director of IDOC, said a significant portion of the state’s inmates are from North Idaho, and having a facility in Kootenai County makes sense.

“We’re trying to do it because we think it will help people transition successfully into the community,” Tewalt said.

Boyer said the Correction Department had no plans to build a center in Hayden, but the city was assured if plans changed, council members and administration would be immediately apprised.

Although money for the facility has been allocated, Tewalt has said there is no timeline to build.