(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . State investment director describes workforce housing project as 'golden handcuffs' – Daily Montanan [1] ['Nicole Girten', 'More From Author', '- February'] Date: 2024-02-21 The executive director for the state’s board of investments told legislators Tuesday the workforce housing project in Deer Lodge would be intended to place “golden handcuffs” on prison employees who would be living there. “These are units that we intend to rent out to employees for five years, and that is really to establish the golden handcuffs on employees,” Dan Villa said. He was referencing the fact that after five years, employees would be fully vested in the pension system and more likely committed to the community. Villa made this comment during the Law and Justice Interim Committee, which Department of Corrections Director Brian Gootkin later addressed. “One correction, we do not handcuff our employees, not even with golden handcuffs,” Gootkin said before his department update. Department of Corrections spokesperson Carolynn Stocker clarified in an email to the Daily Montanan the department “will not own or manage any of the housing built” as part of the project. The project was one of many capital development projects the 2023 legislature passed and Gov. Greg Gianforte signed into law using part of the $2 billion surplus in the state. The 2023 legislature appropriated $12 million to build workforce housing for state employees to the Montana Board of Investments. Villa said 80% was to be dedicated to DOC housing and the other 20% to the state health department employees. This Deer Lodge project will be about 24 units, 1,500 square feet each, Villa said, keeping the budget from $8 million to $9 million. Villa gave an update on the project to legislators Tuesday, showing floor plans for four “seven-plexes”— meaning seven side-by-side units in four large structures. The state hopes to break ground in May. Villa also described how designers were keeping Department of Corrections workers in mind, for example, making sure the garage is big enough to fit the large trucks that so often fill the prison’s parking lot. In addition to providing housing, Villa said the state will facilitate a loan program, which will be available to employees who hit the maximum five-year limit in state housing. Villa explained that after the five year “golden handcuff” period – which he later said was a “poor choice of words” – the state can offer a 0% loan to buy property in the area as a further incentive to keep workers in the Deer Lodge area. He said the department was sure to factor in affordability, given the salaries of state employees, and said rents would range from $750 to $800 per month. The construction costs stand at approximately $200 per square foot. The director said private construction typically charges between $250 and $300 per square foot, so the state is seeing a little better “bang for your buck.” “So we’re trying to create that longer term market for private developers to come in, but at the same time, address the immediate need of affordability for our employees,” Villa said. Updates on Core Civic Legislators also got an update on the inmates sent to the private CoreCivic run prison in Arizona, but some residents said the department wasn’t painting an accurate picture of the programs there. Gootkin told legislators all of the 120 of the beds at the Arizona CoreCivic facility the state funded to send Montana prisoners in order to free up space in Montana prisons had been filled. He said 60% of the Montana inmates in the facility are involved in work assignments, education and programming– like laundry, landscaping, plumbing and others. “When I went down there, and I toured their vocational center, it was extremely impressive to the point where we would model something like that here in Montana in the future,” Gootkin said. However, a prison reform advocate during public comment said the prisoners she’s spoken to have said they’ve struggled with acquiring work assignments and the commissary prices are higher than in the Treasure State. “I hear there are no jobs and there are no programming. Is this something new?” said May Simmons. Another commenter who followed Simmons echoed her concerns. “None of the guys I talked to down there have said anything about having work opportunities,” Randall Knowles said. Stocker told the Daily Montanan in an email after the meeting 72 of the 120 inmates in Arizona are involved in work assignments and education, and additionally, 15 are participating in the Victim Impact Program, 10 in the Go Further Program, and 12 in the Inside Out Dad Program. “As is the case at Montana prisons, involvement in education, programming, and work assignments at Saguaro is voluntary and not all inmates choose to participate,” Stocker said. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2024/02/21/state-investment-director-describes-workforce-housing-project-as-golden-handcuffs/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/