Detention facility would offer Hardin 150 jobs

Hardin is on a short list of possible locations in Montana for a proposed $25 million detention facility that could bring 150 new jobs to Big Horn County’s depressed economy.

The proposal, still in the early stages, could include a 500-bed facility to house detainees from overcrowded local jails or could act as a holding facility for the Bureau of Indian Affairs or U.S. Marshals Service, according to project backers.

By MIKE STARK
Of The Gazette Staff

Annual payroll could be $3 million to $4 million, according to Monty Montgomery, a spokesman for a consortium that’s organizing the proposal.

"In a town like Hardin, there’s not a lot of companies that come to a small rural community," Montgomery said Thursday in a telephone interview from Texas. "We like going to rural communities. We find they’re very interested in these kinds of jobs."

The prospect of those new jobs is an enticing one for Hardin and Big Horn County, where the unemployment rate is more than 14 percent and per capita income has fallen every year since 1980, according to Paul Green, the city’s economic development director.

"When you have 150 jobs in this community – in Billings, it’s nothing. Here, it’s a ton of money," Green said.

Montgomery declined to identify the other locations in Montana that are being considered but said supporters are "strongly looking at" Hardin.

The consortium does not have an official name but refers to itself simply as "the team," according to Montgomery. Part of the group includes Corplan Corrections of Argyle, Texas, a development company with experience building detention facilities, he said.

Most of the group’s work has been in the Southwest.

"But we’re seeing there are other parts of the country that perhaps aren’t being serviced," Montgomery said.

The proposal is very preliminary. The group is planning a feasibility study to determine if government agencies need more room to house inmates.

"We don’t even know if this is feasible at this time," Montgomery said.

If a deal goes through, local taxpayers would not have to pay any costs because the project would be financed through revenue bonds and private investors, according to Montgomery. The city of Hardin would have ownership after the bonds are paid off, he said

"There’s no way this comes back on taxpayers," he said. The out-of-pocket expenses for the city, he said, are "zero."

The facility would be run by a private management company, he said.

Green said the Hardin City Council, which was briefed on the idea earlier this week, is expected to vote in about two weeks on whether to support the deal. The Big Horn County Commission voted down a proposal for a correctional facility in 1997. But so far, he said, the reaction to the new proposal has been positive.

"What I expected was to find a lot of backlash throughout the community," Green said. "This community is totally stoked."

The detention center, which would require 50 to 100 acres, would be a welcome addition to other developments in the area, including a power plant that’s already under construction, Green said.

No site has been proposed. Green said it could be within the city limits or in an area that would be annexed.

Green said there are no specifics on how much the jobs would pay except that they would be the going wage for correctional workers. He said he recently saw an ad for that kind of job listing the wage at more than $12 an hour.

"This is a clean industry that, with a GED or high school diploma, you could get a job with significantly higher … income," Green said. These days, the per capita income in the county is about $10,400 a year.

Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.

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Hardin City Council backs putting jail in area

The Hardin City Council voted Tuesday to pursue plans for a privately operated detention facility that could bring 150 new jobs to the area.

The council unanimously supported a resolution saying it is willing to sponsor a detention facility. Backers of the project, a private group of investors and managers, now will begin a feasibility study.

"The community was overwhelmingly in support of this project," said Paul Green, the city’s economic development director. "There’s a definite demand and need for a detention facility."

Letters of support

The city received about 30 letters from local merchants and community members and a signed petition with 60 names endorsing the proposal, Green said. No letters opposed the project, he said.

The idea is to build a $25 million jail that would temporarily house inmates for law enforcement agencies in the area. The operation would involve a payroll of $3 million to $4 million a year, according to organizers.

Over the past week or so, city officials have spoken with several agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs and the federal Bureau of Prisons. All expressed an interest in a place to temporarily house inmates, Green said, though details such as costs were not discussed.

The facility would not house inmates serving long sentences.

Emerald Cos., based in Shreveport, La., will conduct the feasibility study, which will examine the market for the facility and determine costs.

Free facility

Supporters have said that taxpayers will not have to pay anything for the project and that the city of Hardin would own the facility after the bonds are paid off.

The private backers – from construction, management and investment fields – hope to make money by renting inmate beds to local agencies.

The prospect of up to 150 new jobs is an enticing one for Hardin and Big Horn County, where the unemployment rate is more than 14 percent and per capita income is less than $11,000 a year.

Green did not know how long it would take to complete the feasibility study.

Officials from Emerald Cos. could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.