BELLE FOURCHE—Every Friday morning from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., the public is invited to come enjoy caramel rolls and coffee at the Belle Silver Lining Senior Center. This past Friday, special guests were invited to the event.
On May 1, Police Chief Ryan Cherveny and City Administrator Jason LaFayette spent an hour answering questions and concerns raised by area citizens at the event.
The idea to invite speakers was first suggested by Clark Sowers, city council representative. “Clark kind of put a bug in my ear about it, so then he’s the one that kind of got it rolling,” said Belle Silver Linings Board President Marilyn Huston-Engle. “And we go, well, why don’t we do it at caramel rolls and Ryan and Jason picked a date—we only do them on Fridays.”
Turnout was good; the room was filled with folks wanting to learn about what’s going on in the city of Belle Fourche. “A lot of people came to listen. I would say we have maybe 30-some people for caramel rolls, but usually it is spread out from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.,” explained Huston-Engle. “So it was full!”
A lot of the questions were about the new police station. A few of the highlights were as follows: It was asked why the building for the police station was not put up for a public vote. LaFayette explained that the type of bond that was used to fund the new facility did not require a public vote.
Another question that was asked had to do with whether there would be any holding cells in the new station. “There are three holding cells. Two of them are individual cells, and then there will be a larger one where the county will utilize for court where they can bring all of the inmates at once for court appearances,” explained Cherveny. “There is a mental health room, which will help our costs as far as overtime. Currently, if we have somebody who’s on a mental health hold and there’s not a facility available anywhere in the state, we can sit on them at the new building. We’re currently having to pay people to stay in the hospital up to six days, which is paying somebody to sit there on overtime and somebody else to cover a shift. So that’s a huge burden financially for us. Being able to have them in-house, in that room, will save us tremendously.”
Another questioner wanted to know that if there is a fitness facility being built in the new station, why didn’t the city, since they own the police department and the Rec Center, just give them membership. Cherveny answered, “So we all have memberships to the Rec Center. This fitness center… is minimal equipment. It’s a training facility where we can do tactical training, hands-on training, stuff that we can’t do on a hard surface. So that’s what that room is essentially for. We can bring those trainings in. Self-defense classes for the community can be hosted there. If you fall on the ground, it’s going to be a padded floor versus getting concrete or the gym floor.”
The hour-long question-and-answer session cleared up a lot of misinformation by explaining the rationale behind a lot of the decisions concerning the new police station.
Cherveny let everyone know that the estimated date of completion for the new police department was the end of November 2026 to the beginning of December 2026. The building is on track to open as planned.
When asked what the long-term goal for the new building was, Cherveny explained, “Long-term goal for the facility is sustainability. Essentially in 80 years from now—100 years from now—the building is still running… It’s not going to be maxed out like our last building.” He said the power was overexerted, the office space was too small, there was no place for evidence storage, and all of the problems with the old space can now be remedied for the next 100 years in the new space.
LaFayette spent time explaining what taxes go to running the city and told the room that there is no grant money available to pay for this type of bond used to build the Police Station. But that they will be looking for grants for items going into the building. He explained, “We are actively applying for grants to pay for some of the things with the new building, i.e., the security system and some of the equipment that they’ll get in there.”
The police chief informed the audience that there would be protection for the vehicles in the new space. In past hail storms, all of the vehicles but two were totaled and it cost the city $300,000 in damages.
Cherveny explained the current staffing situation: “There are 16 certified officers right now—15 with hiring one to replace one. There are 19 staff total… so that’s where we’re at now. In the future, we should be (able to hold) up to 50 officers in that building.”
LaFayette informed everyone that he can be found at City Hall and his door is always open if they have any questions. “I’m happy to answer anything, just come in, let’s get the right information. That’s what I want, I want transparency. I want to put the best answers forward,” he said.
Mayor Randy Schmidt thanked the Belle Silver Lining Senior Center for hosting the event. “Any way that the city can get out information is great. So our information comes out during our meetings and they’re all open to the public…this is a great event and thank you guys for hosting us, we really appreciate that. Thank you,” he said.
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