BUTTE — Butte is one of the places that the Montana Department of Corrections would like to locate the state's planned new women’s prison.
The Department of Corrections recently told the Butte Council of Commissioners it’s considering building a 400-bed facility on the 25-acre former Acadia building off Basin Creek Road in the southern part of Butte. The $250 million facility would bring 100 jobs with it.
City officials say they need to examine the pros and cons of this more closely before supporting such a plan.
“It’s just a challenge of overcoming putting a prison in your community, and we’re in a big economic development where people are looking at our community and we want to make sure that it’s a positive aspect for them. So, I’m not weighing in against it, but they’ve got to show a lot of the positive that would impact our community more positively than negatively,” said Butte Chief Executive J.P. Gallagher.
Other locations being considered by the state include Yellowstone County, Anaconda-Deer Lodge County and Boulder, Montana.
