Montgomery County Dedicates New Prison Expansion

The Montgomery County Commissioners and President Judge were joined by state and local officials and area police chiefs Monday to dedicate a major expansion at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.
 
The dormitory-style expansion will accommodate 512 prisoners on work release or serving sentences for DUI and other non-violent offenses. It will alleviate significant overcrowding in the existing prison.
 
The Correctional Facility was originally built to house 1,240 inmates and later expanded to accommodate 1,500, but the population has exceeded 1,700 prisoners in recent years.
 
“This is both a good day and a bad day,” President Judge Richard J. Hodgson said. “It’s good that the addition to the prison got constructed. It’s sad that we’ve gotten to the point in our society that we needed one.”
 
The overcrowding persisted even though the court system and prison staff created a task force to develop innovative programs to reduce overcrowding, including Earned Early Release, Veterans Court, Drug Court and Behavioral Health Court. Those programs will continue after the expansion is complete.
 
This is just the latest in a long line of public safety investments Montgomery County has undertaken in recent years, including an expansion of the Public Safety Operations Center, construction of the new Tactical Response Training Center, deployment of a wireless silent-alarm “panic button” system throughout all schools in the County and a new high-rise addition to the Structural Fire Building to train firefighters, Commissioners Chairman James R. Matthews said.
 
“For 12 years, we’ve been trying to make our facilities match the quality of our employees. We haven’t been able to do it,” Matthews said, speaking to correctional facility staff who attended the dedication.
 
The prison expansion cost $23.5 million took just over a year to complete. The prison increased work-release and other fees, which generate about $300,000 annually to help defray the debt service.