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Silverthorne officials debate potential sites for a new $15 million police facility to better support officers, community

Part of Silverthorne is pictured from Dillon Dam Road on March 9, 2024. The town recently debated potential sites for a new police station as the town hopes to build a new facility by 2027.
Kit Geary/Summit Daily News

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the price of the police facility.

After monthslong analysis, the Silverthorne Police Department and town staff members have three sites in mind for a new station for law enforcement officials. 

Silverthorne whittled a long list of locations down to Smith Ranch, a solar array site near North Pond Park and a spot in between the town’s public works facility and Silverthorne Elementary, according to an announcement at a Dec. 11 meeting. 



Officials have long intended to move the Silverthorne police facility out of town hall. Since voters approved a 2% hike in lodging tax in April, moving it up to 8%, the town now has the funds to make it happen. 

Town Manager Ryan Hyland said population growth is driving the effort. He highlighted how the Silverthorne Police Department was serving around 1,700 residents with the current facility in 1990 and now are serving around 5,000 residents out of the same space.



The need is even more apparent now that Chief Alice Cary has fully staffed the department, according to Hyland.

Cary said safety is another factor behind the push for a new station.

This proposed location for a new police facility, deemed “Cottonwood” by staff members, is in the north end of Silverthorne near Silverthorne Elementary. Mayor Ann-Marie Sandquist dubbed this her favorite of the three locations presented Dec. 11.
Silverthorne/Courtesy illustration

“We have a lot of evidence and have to secure that evidence, and we really need some interview rooms for specific victims and suspects,” she said. “(We also need a new facility) for efficient operations and to streamline workflows, and currently we have our evidence stored in the basement.”

She added the department wants more meeting spaces so it can offer educational programs and a more welcoming, spacious lobby. 

Cary said she is eager for a larger facility so the department can have more amenities to support the mental health of officers. 

“In a 20-year span, an officer will see or experience over 800 traumatic events during, whereas a private citizen may see one or two,” she said, noting that offering support through the workplace will be a priority for her.

This proposed location for a new police facility is where a grocery store was proposed during the planning of the Smith Ranch neighborhood and has remained a tentative plan for years. Staff members said there are less opportunities for this location to expand if need be compared to the other two options presented Dec. 11.
Silverthorne/Courtesy illustration

Town engineer Deborah Snyder said design for the facility will take place in 2025, ground will be broken in 2026 and a grand opening will follow sometime in late 2027 or early 2028.

If the desired location ends up being Smith Ranch, a police facility would be built on the land currently reserved for commercial space. Snyder said this likely would eliminate the possibility of a grocery store, which has been discussed at the Smith Ranch location. She said this consideration was made largely in light of another proposed grocery store coming to Dillon

This option for the planned new Silverthorne Police Department facilities, near where the solar array site is, made its way onto the shortlist because it is town-owned land and Silverthorne wouldn’t have to make any land or building purchases.
Silverthorne/Courtesy illustration

Some council members voiced disapproval of the location since it would be nestled in the middle of a residential area and could take away the possibility of a business moving there.

Mayor Ann-Marie Sandquist worried most of the proposed locations were on the northern end of town and weren’t central. 

Town manager Ryan Hyland said there have been conversations about having a police presence somewhere in the core of town. Staff members have looked into that possibility at different town-owned sites. 

Council member Tim Applegate wondered if the former Pizza Hut site on Stephens Way, which is near the center of town and Interstate 70, was considered. Hyland said given the town’s plan to expand Stephens Way to be four lanes instead of two, it wouldn’t make sense to put a police facility there.

Many officials favored the location near the public works facility and weren’t opposed to the location near North Pond Park. One draw to both these locations, Snyder said, was there was room to expand the facilities if the population, and size of the department, grew. 

The price tag for the project is $15 million no official decisions regarding location were made at the Dec. 11 meeting. 

Silverthorne plans to have an open house to gather community feedback on potential plans sometime during January.


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