Kurt → Brereton, Osmundson, Villa (Mayor
cc) Subject: Laurel property for new state
facility D02801
Mr. Brereton, Mr.
Osmundson, Mr. Villa,
On behalf
of the City of Laure's Mayor, I am emailing
you to let you know about a potential site
for the new State of Montana mental health
facility. The property is just west of the
Laurel city limits and with the start of the
development of a Love's Truck Plaza just
west of the city, there will be new water
and sewer services installed as part of the
truck plaza. Love's is investing 2.4 million
installing new water and sewer lines to
their property and the property depicted in
the attached pictures below in this email
will benefit by having a 12-inch water main
and an 8-inch sewer line run past this
proposed property.
As a certified
building inspector, I know what the state
will need for water and sewer services to
develop a building that will meet current
building standards. Having a water line of
12 inches would allow any facility the
ability to sprinkle the building to protect
from fire spread. I believe that Laurel will
have the necessary infrastructure adjacent
to this property including gas and electric
services than the other sites that have been
considered. I realize that the state has
limited funds to build such a facility but
having all utilities close by would allow
the state to purchase property that is
currently listed for sale.
This
site also has the benefit of having the old
interstate interchange that was deeded to
the City of Laurel after the State DOT built
a new on/off interstate ramp further west.
The city was granted this parcel from the
Montana Department of Transportation and is
120 feet in width. The state had plans to
demolish the asphalt, and I requested they
deed it to Laurel for access to our land
that is just north of the interstate. This
old interstate on/off ramp would make an
excellent access road for the new facility.
Or the State could remove the asphalt and
seek the property from city making the
parcel even larger for facility expansion.
I have researched the necessary
zoning needed to allow for a facility of
this type and with annexation into the City
of Laurel, the state could request a zoning
designation of "Public" which would allow
the facility to be built at this location.
The property to the south is county zoning
heavy industrial and this property is
currently zoned county highway commercial.
Residential development is sparce in the
surround area.
The Mayor of
Laurel would like to invite you all to a
teams meeting to further discuss the
potential for the proposed site to become
the home of a new state facility. Please
look over the included information and
pictures and consider this site as the best
site in Yellowstone County to build a
facility. The property is currently on the
market to be sold. I did check with the
listing agent yesterday and it is available.
The Mayor and I look forward to
further discussions.
Kurt
Markegard
Chief Administrative Officer
City of Laurel, Montana
406-628-4796
ext. 5305