The Flathead County commissioners on Tuesday approved up to $75,000 to create a larger medical office and exam room for people incarcerated at the county jail in Kalispell.

Detention Cmdr. Jennifer Grande said the jail's existing medical unit is far too small at about 190 square feet. Designed for just one nurse, it is now staffed by a nurse, a medical technician and a doctor who visits at least once a week. Grande said it's used to treat and examine multiple inmates every day.

"We've had some incidents where it's become an unsafe environment when we take inmates back there," Grande told the commissioners, "because it's so small and it's so cluttered because we're out of storage area."

Commissioner Pam Holmquist said she had visited the medical unit and agreed the space is too cramped.

The plan is to renovate a five-bed, 380-square-foot housing unit in the jail that is primarily used when the incarcerated population begins to reach capacity. Grande said about three-quarters of the space will be turned into a medical office, and an exam room will be built in the back to provide more privacy for inmates.

Grande said that's the best use for the space, as the layout makes it difficult for deputies to conduct visual inspections when inmates are housed there. The project will have a minimal impact on the jail's capacity, she said, reducing the total number of beds from 154 to 149.

Meanwhile, Grande will use the old medical unit as her office, freeing up space for support staff in the Flathead County Sheriff's Office. She said it makes more sense for her to be present inside the jail.

Grande said she had reached out to numerous contractors, but most were too busy amid the local development boom. One company, Martel Construction, bid about $49,000 and is expected to start work on the medical unit this month. Additional funds were budgeted for new medical equipment and a proper exam table; the current medical unit has only a bench.

The jail, built in 1985, was expanded in 2017 at a cost of $1.3 million. The commissioners unanimously approved the medical unit expenditures from a capital-improvement account dedicated for another potential jail expansion sometime in the future.

Reporter Chad Sokol can be reached at 758-4434 or csokol@dailyinterlake.com