City jail to remain open during day as holding facility

The Columbia Falls jail won't close after all — at least not entirely. Police Chief Dave Perry said the jail will remain in use as a holding facility for the city court during weekday hours.

An office clerk will watch over the jail Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The clerk will also handle calls from citizens and man the police station window.

The expectation was the jail would close completely this month as the city switches over 911 service from local dispatch to county dispatch. But a software glitch and training delays mean the jail will see use on weekends and nights until early April.

Perry said four of the city's five dispatchers have decided to take jobs with the county 911 center. But those dispatchers need to be trained before they take jobs with the county. That training is scheduled to start March 1. He said the city has already been doing "trial runs' with the jail closed to see how the logistics would work out.

With no jail in town, officers have to transport prisoners to the county jail. So far, the tests have panned out, but Perry said the city will have to eventually add two officers to cover the transports, or they'll have significant overtime costs.