Click here to subscribe today or Login.
By BONNIE ADAMS, TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER and LAUREN ROTH
badams@leader.net, tmorgan@leader.net, lroth@leader.net
Wednesday, March 05, 2003 Page: 1A
PLAINS TWP. – A local drug and alcohol treatment provider has applied to
open a methadone clinic at a medical building on Laird Street, zoning officer
Rich Piekutowski confirmed Tuesday.
Piekutowski said Choices, of Kingston, sought an occupancy permit to open
the clinic eight to 10 days ago, but he denied the application.
Piekutowski said a “red light went on” in his head when he saw methadone
dispensing on the short application. According to the zoning ordinance, a
medical facility or clinic would be allowed at the metal and brick building
owned by Tony Rinaldi. About three-quarters of the space is occupied by FMC
Dialysis Services, a kidney dialysis center. The back portion was available
for rent.
The occupancy permit hit a snag because the application for a “drug and
alcohol counseling (center) with methadone dispensing” does not fall under
the definition of a clinic, Piekutowski said.
The application, which “doesn’t specify a clinic at all,” does not
indicate if the center would have fully-licensed state doctors present, and
Piekutowski said the township needs to know what safety measures are in place
in case of a medical problem. “This is a major concern,” he said.
He told Choices’ lawyer, Bruce J. Phillips, that he will have to go for a
conditional use hearing before the commissioners. He also passed his decision
on to zoning solicitor Laura T. Macaravage and commissioners’ solicitor
Stephen Menn. The hearing has not been scheduled.
In any case, “in my opinion, because of the synthetic narcotic, I still
think it should go before the board of commissioners” and the public, he
said.
Choices is operated by the Wyoming Valley Health Care System. The center
has been working with Mike Donahue, administrator of Luzerne-Wyoming Counties
Drug and Alcohol Program, to establish the clinic.
Donahue said the system will work in cooperation with the Drug and Alcohol
Program to operate the clinic, which would serve clients in the two counties.
He said the Luzerne County Heroin Task Force will announce more details later
this month.
Methadone, a synthetic narcotic, would be provided to heroin addicts to
replace their use of the drug. Officials have previously said it would be a
methadone-to-abstinence program, with the dosage being decreased over time so
the addict wouldn’t be dependent on either drug.
Donahue said Tuesday he did not know the occupancy permit had been denied.
Told of the reason given by Piekutowski, Donahue said the center will have
physicians on hand and believes it’s just a matter of clarifying the
application.
Donahue said the facility also complies with Act 10, the 1999 state law
that dictates where methadone clinics can locate. The act prohibits clinics
within 500 feet of schools, religious institutions, playgrounds, parks,
child-care centers or homes.
“It’s not near anyone’s house. It’s not near anything,” Donahue said.
He is hopeful the community will support a conditional use exception.
“I hope that because we’re in compliance with Act 10 there will be support
for this service that is needed for those individuals who continue to suffer
with this disease,” he said.
But it seems Choices will face a skeptical, if not downright hostile, board
of commissioners.
Commissioner Ciro Cinti said the board is “just finding this out,” and
won’t see the paperwork until Monday’s work session. “I want the police
chief’s input,” he said. “In that area, would it be detrimental?” He also
said he wanted to hear from the community. Chief Ed Walsh could not be reached
Tuesday night for comment.
“I’m 100 percent, totally against any type of methadone clinic in Plains
Township,” said commissioner Brigid O’Connor. ~“I resent the fact that
someone’s even considering trying to locate in Plains Township when it’s been
turned down in many other boroughs, municipalities and cities.”
Drug and alcohol officials have been trying to open a methadone clinic in
the area for five years. The state Department of Health Bureau of Drug and
Alcohol programs has committed $300,000 to the proposed Luzerne County clinic.
That is in addition to the $100,000 that Luzerne County commissioners budgeted
in 2001. Donahue said Tuesday those funds remain intact.
“This was already allocated to us. The fact that we’re continuing to go
forward with the plan of service will allow us to secure these dollars,” he
said.
Pennsylvania Department of Health spokeswoman Amy Kelchner said three
separate entities are involved in licensing a methadone clinic, and that the
licensing process takes an average of a year. The state Department of Health,
the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment
within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services must sign off on it.
She said no public hearings are required prior to a methadone clinic opening,
but the site must meet local zoning requirements.
Mary Martin, director of Choices, said that process has been in the works,
but there are still many approvals the site must obtain before it can open.
She estimated the clinic would not open for at least six months.
“Getting the site is one step, it’s a huge step, but there are still some
regulations and authorities we need to pass through,” she said. “We still
need to get a DEA license to dispense methadone. We have to buy equipment.”
Choices has been actively searching for a suitable site for more than a
year. Officials had remained tight-lipped about the location, fearful
publicity would generate negative public feedback that could jeopardize it.
That’s what happened in 1999 when New Directions methadone clinic in
Allentown tried to establish a clinic in an Old Forge building. The agency
abandoned the fight because of vehement opposition from Borough Council and
residents and threats of a lawsuit.
Glenn Cooper, director of New Directions, said the clinic also tried to
locate in Wilkes-Barre in 1998, but the plan fell through.
Martin assured residents the clinic would be operated under the strictest
standards, including tight security.
“It’s not a fly-by-night thing where we’re just opening shop. There are
very strict regulations we must abide by and government authorities to watch
over us,” she said.