Butte-Silver Bow commissioners hear DOC site pitch, review bids and accept grants and audit report

Butte-Silver Bow commissioners on Wednesday heard a presentation from the Montana Department of Corrections about plans to build a secure women’s facility, reviewed multiple road-construction bid openings and referred them to staff, and formally accepted two state Main Street grants and the county’s annual audit.

The Department of Corrections (DOC) told commissioners the state is considering locations for a new women’s prison and is entering conversations with local governments about potential siting. “We are full,” Brian Gookin, director of corrections, said, describing current statewide bed shortages and noting the department has been sending male offenders out of state. Deputy Director Eric Strauss said the department is seeking funding language (LC 1119) that would designate roughly $250 million for DOC construction; Strauss said the package would likely allocate roughly $220 million to the new facility while another $30 million would be used elsewhere.

The DOC presenters discussed the Acadia property south of Uptown Butte as an early candidate. Officials said the site is attractive because the state already owns a roughly 25-acre parcel there, program and classroom space exists on site, and Highlands College has expressed interest in partnering. The state said a new 400-bed facility would be sized to address current female offender capacity and programming needs, with vocational, administrative and recreation yards included in planning. “Most almost every one of the women that are in prison are coming out of prison and going into the communities,” Gookin said, framing workforce development and reentry programming as central aims.

Commissioners asked about community impacts, local public safety and tax…