MILES CITY— Representatives from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) and state Board of Investments (BOI) reviewed proposals for Miles City and Hardin Friday for new state forensic mental health facility.
They toured plots of land in Miles City and Hardin all day Friday.
Watch to see officials meeting in Miles City:
State officials review Miles City and Hardin proposals for state mental health facility
The state officials said they plan to decide on the facility location by Wednesday.
Montana state Sen. Gregg Hunter said Miles City residents are welcoming the idea of the facility coming to their community.
Related: Custer County pushing for proposed state mental hospital in Miles City
“If you’re going to put it in some place where the community doesn’t want it, you’re going to be fighting those battles forever. So, I think this is a step ahead of a lot of other places and sites that they’ve looked at,” Hunter, a Glasgow Republican, said Friday morning after his meeting in Miles City with DPHHS and BOI.
Vanessa Willardson
Montana State Senator Gregg Hunter
Hunter said one draw for Miles City is that the facility could attract employees from Miles Community College’s nursing program and Miles City VA Clinic.
State officials are considering aspects such as infrastructure, housing, the available workforce, and long-term community impact to decide the final location.
“This is generational, so how does that scale over the next 50 years?” said Director of BOI Dan Villa during the meeting in Miles City.
Vanessa Willardson
BOI Director Dan Villa
MTN News did not travel to Hardin for the other Friday meeting, but according to Big Horn County Director of Economic Development Lawrence Killsback, the meeting went well, and he believes state officials are giving Hardin a good chance.
Even though DPHHS and BOI did not travel to Laurel Friday, the city is still in the running for the state forensic mental health facility as well.
The 2025 Montana Legislature approved $26.2 million for a mental health facility in eastern Montana, the second of its kind in the state. The Legislature did not identify a spot for the facility, leaving cities to make bids.