Pubdate: Tue, 20 Apr 1999
Source: York Daily Record (PA)
Copyright: 1999 The York Daily Record
Contact:  http://www.ydr.com/
Author: Daily Record staff writer Jim Lynch contributed to this report.

CLINIC PROPOSAL TOPIC OF MEETING 

Residents Could Learn Today If A Proposed Spring Garden Methadone Clinic
Will Be Scrapped Or Altered.

HARRISBURG - Spring Garden Township residents who have protested plans to
open a methadone clinic in their neighborhood may get good news today.

Local officials and a clinic representative will address the issue at a 9:30
a.m. news conference in the county commis sioners meeting room.

Commissioner Chris Reilly called the conference Monday afternoon but did not
divulge its nature. Reporters were told to expect an announcement regarding
drug and alcohol programs. Later, Reilly acknowledged that the announcement
would deal with the proposed treatment center for heroin addicts.

Key players in the methadone clinic drama have confirmed that they will
participate in the press conference, among them: Jeffrey Kegley, executive
vice president of Advanced Treatment Systems, the Coatesville-based  ompany
that sought and received zoning approval to open a methadone clinic in a
professional center in Spring  Garden Township; and Daniel E. McGarry Jr.,
the township's  president commissioner.

McGarry said he and Kegley have discussed the possibility of an alternative
location for the heroin-addiction treatment center. When Kegley visited
Spring  Garden Township last month for a meet  ing with concerned residents,
McGarry  suggested several other sites.

"He was nice enough to say, 'Yeah I think I'll go look at some  of the sites
while I'm here,' " McGarry said.

There is a "high likelihood" that the clinic will open  elsewhere, according
to McGarry. He said the company's main  reservation about moving is that it
has  already signed a lease for  the property in the 1600 block of South
Queen Street.

Kegley declined to comment on the prospect of an alternative location,
adding that he would have more to say after today's press conference.

If the condition of the proposed building in the Tri-Hill Professional
Center is any indication, it appears unlikely the methadone clinic will wind
up  there.

The one-story building bears none of the trappings of a  treatment center at
this point. Taped to the front door is a notice  that the former occupants
have  moved. The main room has only a few  pieces of furniture in it, and
the back  rooms have even less.

Should ATS still be targeting the professional center on South Queen Street,
it appears for now it will be some time before they are ready to open their
doors.

While Reilly and company are making their announcement, state lawmakers in
Harrisburg will be considering legislation to bar methadone clinics from
residential neighborhoods that do not want them.

Last month the state House approved a bill that would prevent methadone
clinics from locating within 1,000 feet of a residential neighborhood,
school, park, playground or place of worship  in a first-class township such
as Spring Garden.

After policy makers from the state Department of Health and the governor's
office expressed reservations about the bill, its prime champions - Rep.
Todd Platts of Springettsbury Township and Sen. Mike Waugh of Shrewsbury
Township - agreed to tone it down.

Today, at a 9:30 a.m. meeting, the House Local Government Committee will
consider a bill that is larger in scope than the initial legislation - it
would affect every municipality - but softer in impact - the buffer zone
would be 500  feet and  communities open to the idea of a methadone clinic
could opt out of  it.

Kegley said he had not seen the legislation but pointed out that his company
obtained zoning approval in October - well before the state Legislature took
up  the issue.

"I seriously question any social policy, any legislation, that deprives a
business of the right to utilize zoning lawfully obtained," Kegley said.

McGarry has concerns about the legislation, too. A municipality that tried
to enforce the law could be dragged into an expensive lawsuit by the drug
treat  ment company, he said.

Daily Record staff writer Jim Lynch contributed to this report.

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