by Travis Mateer
Who knew the organization running Missoula’s pre-release center on Mullan Road, MISSOULA CORRECTIONAL SERVICES, was a non-profit? Did I?
No, I did not know that MCS is a non-profit until reading up to write this post, and that’s because the Sue Wilkins chameleon act is VERY well done and VERY deceptive. Just look at the sign my handsome mug is next to (not mugshot, which you can see here). Do you see how much the concrete sign for Missoula Correctional Services looks like the concrete sign for the Detention Center (jail), which you can see in the background of the picture? This is clearly by design, but why?
We’ll get to that, but first, let’s take a look at some of MCS’s notable media appearances, like the challenge of providing air conditioning for their indentured slaves clients, which was reported on in July by KPAX. From the link (emphasis mine):
MTN has received reports the Missoula Pre-Release Center has been without air conditioning for more than a year and in this heat wave, it’s been a challenge to keep residents and staff comfortable.
We reached out to the Montana Correctional Services and talked to Executive Director Sue Wilkins who says they are being creative by renting commercial fans and swamp coolers for the building.
Later in the article, the creative Sue Wilkins and her non-profit is described as such, which caused my eyebrows to start elevating (emphasis mine):
Missoula Correctional Service is a non-profit agency that contracts with the State and the County to provide community correction programs in Missoula.
Wilkins says the new cooling system should be put in by the end of this year if all goes according to plan.
Yes, according to plan. Like the plan in 2022 to shake down Missoula County for more tax money? That plan? (emphasis mine):
Missoula Correctional Services wants to re-up its contract with Missoula County, but they are also looking for more tax money.
We dug into their budget and found the nonprofit had over $500,000 in revenue after expenses.
Missoula Correctional Services maintains contracts with Missoula County to provide misdemeanor probation, pretrial services and community service programs.
They recently asked for a budget increase across all three contracts totaling close to $24,000.
“The primary need was for staff wages,” executive director Sue Wilkins said.
Hmmm, more staff? I wonder, what kind of duties do these staff people do for their clients? Do they help them get on Medicaid to ensure they don’t have bills that go to collections? I would guess that might be part of successfully reintegrating a “returning citizen” into Missoula’s challenging housing market, right?
The aesthetics of this facility are made to appear like Missoula County Detention Center, which was built on this land in 1999. The early morning sun might be shining on the bricks of this facility, and the bricks of the jail right next door, but I don’t think the sunlight of transparency reaches all that far INSIDE Missoula’s pre-release center.
In the spirit of bringing sunlight to MANY dark places around this town, I’ll wrap up this post with a little context about Sue Wilkins hubby, Jon.
You see, I remember Jon Wilkins when he was on City Council, so I know he’s a Veteran who would probably consider himself conservative, considering that his involvement in politics came from his NIMBY stance against “alley houses”. Yes the irony of what I suspect is NOT happening at his wife’s “non-profit” is not lost on me.
“I learned nothing gets done in a hurry,” Wilkins said. “The best intentions have controversy. I’ve learned to be more patient, and I’m not a very patient person. And I’m learning to compromise, which I don’t always think is good.”
Last week, he agonized over one deal in particular, the cause that led him to seek office in the first place. Wilkins, who lives in the Lewis and Clark neighborhood, didn’t like the “alley houses” that were going up, and he vowed to protect Ward 4 from them.
The zoning rewrite, adopted last Monday, allows those so-called granny suites in multifamily zones by right, something Wilkins doesn’t support. But he voted in favor of the rewrite because it doesn’t permit them in other districts.
“I did get them banned from single-family neighborhoods, and I think that was an accomplishment,” Wilkins said.
I hope to write another post about Missoula Correctional Services soon that more explicitly links the urban camping Doc Moore is freaking out about to the supposed mission of this “non-profit”, so stay tuned. And PLEASE consider donating to Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF). I kick ass, and you should pay me for it!
Thanks for reading!