BELLE FOURCHE - A beer license for a proposed pool hall in downtown Belle Fourche was denied because of its proximity to a drug and alcohol treatment facility.

Mary "Lou" Marsh, the applicant for the beer license, told the Belle Fourche City Council at a public hearing Monday, Aug. 3, that she believed she was "getting picked on" in her application.

Marsh told the council, "I just want this really bad."

She said other beer license applications had been "waltzing right through," but her application had been cited because federal laws for handicap accessibility in restrooms would have to be met.

The pool hall would be at 600 Fifth Avenue - U.S. Highway 85 in downtown Belle Fourche. Marsh said she would have the work done when possible but said it would be slow, since she relies on Social Security for her income.

With six of eight council members present, a three to three split vote put Mayor Dave Schneider into casting a tiebreaking vote. He voted to deny.

Opposition came from Jim Fox, clinical director for Addiction Family Resources. That facility is separated from Marsh's location by only a shared parking lot.

Fox said having beer being served across the small parking lot "is just nothing but counterproductive for anything we're doing there."

The drug and alcohol treatment program is a division of Inner-Mountain Family Resources, and according to its Web site, is accredited through the South Dakota Department of Human Services.

Fox said the operation employs 12 and has been in its current location since 1992, and has been listed as the second most effective in South Dakota, largely because of its location and the acceptance of the low-profile program in the community.

He said that although the center has been near downtown bars for years, "In the last few months, there has been an increase in verbal abuse" of clients.

"Our business is tough the way it is," he said.

"Our clients - they work hard at this; … this just demoralizes us."

Looking toward additional inconvenience next year with the Highway 85 project on schedule, Fox said, "It's kind of borderline right now with this construction."

Marsh responded, "I'm not trying to open this to cause problems," and that parking would be no different than now.

She added that she would "never put up with that kind of stuff" Fox expressed concerns about.

Before casting his opposition vote, Councilman Henry Nore said, "I don't think it's the right place."