New substation at ISU will increase police visibility and build relationships, officials says
Published at
POCATELLO — At a ceremonial ribbon-cutting Monday afternoon, the Portneuf Health Trust and Pocatello Police Department officially opened the department’s new substation.
The 500-square-foot substation is located in the trust’s building on the Idaho State University Campus. The location, according to trust’s president and CEO Shaun Menchaca, is key.
“This is one of those projects where everybody wins,” Menchaca said. “The police get a presence in the southern part of our community, we get the police in our building and they get a place to do their reports.”
At the event, Menchaca addressed the increased police visibility on and around the campus and the importance of it, a sentiment with which Mayor Brian Blad agreed.
The new substation, Blad said, allows for quicker response times to the ISU campus and surrounding areas. The mayor was also happy to point out the funding for the substation, which came entirely from the trust, while the city will be responsible for maintenance.
“It’s amazing how few, if any, tax dollars were spent to make this happen,” Blad said. “This was all the Portneuf Health Trust that did this, and we’re very excited to have that relationship.”
“The number one thing that we can do is build relationships, and the relationship that we have with the Portneuf Health Trust and our community is outstanding,” Pocatello Chief of Police Roger Schei said. “We love our community. We love serving our community.”
In building those relationships, Schei added it is important for officers to maintain regular visibility.
The substation was actually completed in November, but the ribbon-cutting had to be postponed due to COVID-mandated limitations on public gatherings.