KALISPELL — Back in November, Flathead County voters approved a $105 million bond to construct a new Public Safety Facility to house the county jail and Sheriff’s Department.
On Wednesday, Flathead County leaders were on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony including county commissioners and Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino.
Sean Wells reports - watch the video here:
Construction is set to officially begin on Snowline Lane in south Kalispell and is expected to go on for roughly 3 years as Martel Construction builds the county’s new public safety facility.
“You know we’re growing, we’re growing as a sheriff’s office, we’re growing as a detention center, and we need this room to ensure that we can stand up to growth that we’re seeing in this valley,” said Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino.
Heino said the current jail has reached capacity, is severely outdated and is a major safety risk for both inmates and officers.
“Law enforcement can be out there each day when someone has an active warrant, they no longer have to make the decision on capacity but whether or not that individual needs to go to jail, but also for our staff I mean we’re providing more daylight, better lighting, better conditions for those people to provide the best services because our detention officers our very important,” said Sheriff Heino.
The new jail can house up to 260 inmates, more than double the capacity of the current jail.
Flathead County Commissioner Pam Holmquist said she’s advocated for the new jail for more than a decade.
“Started in 2015 when I went to jail school and recognized the need, started the jail fund in 2016, been putting money away every year since and this is like my dream, it’s been my dream for 11 years,” said Holmquist.
More information on the new facility can be found here.
