Major expansion Coming at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility

The Montgomery County Commissioners and the President Judge were joined by state and local officials and area police chiefs recently to break ground on a major expansion at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.

The dormitory-style expansion is designed to 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.

President Judge Richard J. Hodgson noted 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, Drug Court and Behavioral Health Court. Those programs will continue after the expansion is complete, he said.

“As the shovels meet the dirt today, let’s hope that the new addition will provide the necessary relief to ensure the efficient and safe operation of the Montgomery County Correctional Facility for years to come,” Hodgson said.

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.

“Those were all good to achieve, but they weren’t mandatory,” Matthews said. “This is a compulsory move. We owe it to Warden Algarin and his staff.”

The prison expansion will cost $24 million to construct and is expected to take about a year to complete.

The prison recently increased fees at the prison, including work-release fees, which will generate about $300,000 annually to help defray the debt service of about $1.7 million a year.

Prison administrators will also contact federal authorities once the expansion is complete about the possibility of housing immigration violators awaiting deportation to further help with the costs of the project.

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