Planning begins for future of detention center

Constrained by limited funds, commissioners say Lincoln County is years out from building a badly needed law enforcement and detention center.

“It is a multi-year project unless someone wants to drop a bunch of money into our lap and I don’t see that coming anytime soon,” said Commissioner Mark Peck (D-1) on April 1.

In December, Peck said the Lincoln County Detention Center was cramped and severely outdated. Architects had not designed the structure up to current federal or state standards. That means any major renovations of the center, which is housed in the basement of the county courthouse, would force officials to bring the structure into full compliance.

In recent months, technology issues have plagued the center. Lincoln County Sheriff Darren Short and Undersheriff Brad Dodson came before the commissioners in July when surveillance cameras installed inside cells malfunctioned, adding to the facility’s woes.

Before the county can begin designing the new multimillion-dollar center, Peck said officials would have to nail down local law enforcement needs. The sheriff’s office has created a task force to help with the process.

During a March 9 gathering, which officials failed to advertise to the public, Peck and Commissioner Jerry Bennett (D-2) discussed the task force with Troy Mayor Dallas Carr and members of the Troy Area Dispatch Board. At the time, Short was establishing the group, according to the minutes of the meeting.

Bennett said Short was still recruiting members for the task force as of April 1. Short did not respond to requests for comment.

Once officials have an idea of what needs the new center will have to meet, Peck said engineers and architects could sketch out a couple of different options. At one point, he said, officials considered converting the courthouse into a law enforcement center and finding a new space to house the county’s legal and administrative staff.

As officials sift through the designs, Peck said the public would be called on for input. Peck recalled going through a similar process when working on the consolidation of the 911 center in Flathead County.

To fund the construction, commissioners said they would take advantage of any monetary stream available. Bennett pointed out that the county is already running on a limited budget.

“I think we’re pretty lean and mean as far as things go, but I still think we need to be looking at every dollar [instead of] raising taxes on citizens that we don’t have to,” he said.

A potential source of savings could come from the consolidation of the county’s dispatch centers. During the March 9 meeting, officials calculated that if they were to merge the Libby, Eureka and Troy dispatch services, the county could free up around $386,000. Lincoln County is the only such jurisdiction in the state to have three dispatch centers.

In addition to funding a new jail, officials could use the savings to bolster volunteer emergency services.

If the county were to merge its dispatch services, officials would have to look into a backup system for the one remaining emergency call center. This need was highlighted earlier this year when the Libby dispatch service went down and Troy dispatchers had to fill in, according to minutes of the March 9 meeting.

Peck said the county could look into using a neighboring county’s dispatch service as a backup.