Before they were against it, Laurel leaders expressed support for psychiatric hospital

Before at least one state legislator was against a state psychiatric facility in Laurel, he was for it.

And despite accusations of the community of backroom deals and discussions by Laurel’s city leaders, a meeting in October showed that many of the details residents have alleged have been kept out of the public view were discussed in detail at a city council workshop.

The total number of members of the public who attended that Oct. 21, 2025, meeting was three — and one of the members of the public was there to complain about “chuckholes” and garbage can placement on a residential street.

In that city council meeting, Laurel City Administrator Kurt Markegard introduced both state Sen. Vince Ricci, R-Laurel, and state Rep. Lee Deming, R-Laurel, to detail information about a projected state-run psychiatric facility that would evaluate and treat those who stand charged of crimes. Many of those details presented by the legislative tandem remain unchanged, even though residents have accused city leaders of withholding information or not being more public.

During the meeting, Ricci passed out documents to city officials detailing  the project. Council members were told Laurel had no property that met the needs of the state facility, with one council member saying that the proposed 32-bed facility was hardly big enough to meet demand.

Markegard told the eight-person council that city staff, including Dave Waggoner, who is now the target of a potential recall election because of his support, that he and the two lawmakers were presenting the information to suss out the interest of the council, whether it should apply for site consideration by a state deadline in November 2025.

No decision was made, and Laurel never made an application, as Miles City and Big Horn County did. During the meeting, no members of the council spoke out against moving forward or asked for the process to be stopped.

“No one says that there’s not a need for this in eastern Montana, and they’re bound and determined to build this someplace — and that it needs to be in Yellowstone County,” Deming said during that meeting. “And because I’m from Laurel, I want it to be in Laurel. Of course, that’s up to you folks. It makes zero sense to put it in Miles City or Glendive — they just don’t have the workforce for it.”

However, both Ricci and Deming appear to have recently reversed course, writing a letter to Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, also a Republican, stating their strident opposition to the project being located in Laurel.

“It is abundantly clear that our constituents do not want this facility built anywhere near our town,” the letter from the two Laurel legislators said. “This issue is splitting Laurel and causing bitter divisions that we believe will be long-lasting. The fight over placing this facility in Laurel is just getting started. We believe that the fight against the facility will continue and the costs to the state and money will continue to increase.”

When contacted earlier this week about the letter, Ricci told the Daily Montanan it spoke for itself. Meanwhile, Deming when contacted and asked about the issue said, “I’d rather not talk about it.”

“I would urge the council to take a look at the proposals and to put it in Laurel,” Deming said during the October meeting. “It wouldn’t hurt to put 120 state paying jobs here at all in Laurel, but also the humanity of it to help those folks who desperately need evaluation, and they would have to travel all the way to the western part of the state.”

Currently, Galen hosts the 52-bed state psychiatric facility in a state with approximately 1.2 million people. Courts order psychiatric evaluation and treatment, especially for those who are mentally unfit to stand trial. Officials point out that nearly three-quarters of all residents from east of the continental divide come from Yellowstone County, the state’s largest.

Furthermore, transportation costs squeeze already limited county resources by forcing rural, eastern Montana counties to travel deep into the western part of the state — sometimes pulling law enforcement officers from other duties.

During the October meeting, just like meetings more recently, Laurel City Attorney Michelle Braukmann urged the council members not to issue opinions on the record because members may be called upon if the state proposes a site to annex into the city limits. Currently, the Montana Board of Investments has a buy-sell agreement with a landowner for a 114-acre parcel to the west of the city for the secure psychiatric facility.

Also during the October city meeting, one council member voiced a concern: That the facility would not be big enough and should be expanded.

“Thirty-two beds is nothing. The people that are in downtown Billings … there’s probably 32 of them right now that could wind up there,” said Council member Irv Wilke. “That doesn’t even hit the bottom rail of the need.”

The state has proposed a 32-bed facility that could expand to 64 beds, with as many as 120 staff members.

“Thirty-two beds seems kind of silly. It might be a good start, but we need to start planning for double that size because I can see it just exploding,” Wilke said.

All leaders — including Deming and Ricci — expressed frustration that neither the state had hosted a meeting, or that questions were not being answered by Gianforte’s office or the state’s Department of Public Health and Human Services. All said that they were certain the facility would be sited in Yellowstone County because of the outsized need there.

“The issue is really about job creating and job retention,” Markegard said in October. “Is it going to be where they’re going to want to live and recreate when they get off shift? And the state believes that Yellowstone County is that place.”

Waggoner also spoke about his involvement and his support of the facility in the October meeting.

“The state showed up — as mayor it was my job to entertain that thought. I was voted in to help build Laurel. Part of my job is getting in businesses and jobs and helping our businesses,” he said. “It would help our restaurants, and it would help our motels, because as was stated, those sheriffs (who bring prisoners) can’t turn around and go back. They have to spend the night and eating, and ultimately, it comes down to you eight (city council members).”

Council member Richard Klose also said in October that discussions should continue.

“We shouldn’t close the door on it,” he said.

In the dark

Part of the largely negative feedback from the community centers on Markegard and Waggoner, and to some extent, the council itself for not keeping the community informed.

However, the meeting shows that Markegard invited the legislators to the regular city council workshop — a forum to discuss future ideas and business not necessarily tied to a specific action item on the agenda. Also, the information provided to Laurel remains largely unchanged today, for example, the need for a 32-bed secure psychiatric facility.

“If we’re going to be in the running, we should have more discussions,” Markegard told the council in October.

Another aspect of the community frustration centers on communication from the state — the Governor’s Office, health department, and the state’s Board of Investments. At least one meeting was planned to address the community, hosted by the Laurel Chamber of Commerce. However, state officials told the Daily Montanan that they had to cancel because Laurel leaders insisted that meeting be closed to the press, something that would have violated state law.

Still another issue for community members is one of public safety — that a facility that holds people who are in the criminal justice system and severely mentally ill. Some of those concerns have been fomented by the Chairman of Yellowstone County Mark Morse, a Republican who urged city leaders in January to reject any state proposals because of the unknown security concerns.

Yet at the October meeting, part of the 75-minute meeting was spent addressing issues of public safety, including the myth that once patients in the psychiatric facility would literally be released back onto the streets of Laurel.

“The only people in this facility are people who are ordered here by a judge. That’s how they get here,” Ricci said. “They’re not just released loose — they go there because they can’t stand trial, and when they leave, they go back to trial.”

Deming agreed at the October meeting.

“That’s nothing they would contemplate. That is never going to happen here,” he said.