RESIDENTS PROTEST EXPANSION OF ADOLESCENT DRUG TREATMENT CENTER

Some Louisville area residents living near an adolescent drug treatment
center are protesting a planned expansion of the facility, and they have
the support of their county commissioner.

The Werner Center, operated by the Helen Ross McNabb Center, has approached
the Blount County Planning Commission about a permit and site review plan
necessary to expand their facility by 4,000 square feet, but action was
deferred until January to allow for closer consultation between the center
and its neighbors.

The center provides residential and outpatient chemical dependency
rehabilitation for children age 13 to 18. The 24-bed facility is located on
39 acres at 3845 Holston College Road.

The center is proposing a 16-bed addition for females only, said Patti
Hall, vice president of community relations for Helen Ross McNabb.

"Right now we have only four female beds, and there is a waiting list," she
said.

Patients are referred by the state Department of Children's Services,
juvenile courts, parents, school systems or parents. It is a nonsecure
facility, and that is what has neighbors worried about the planned expansion.

"Security is one of the main things," said Blount County Commissioner Ken
Melton, whose district includes the center and its neighbors. Also on
people's minds, Melton said, is "if they expand now, is it going to get
bigger and bigger and bigger?"

Melton said he will continue to present the concerns of his constituents to
the Blount County Planning Commission, on which he sits.

He said complaints have ranged from theft to trespassing.

According to the Blount County 911 Center, the Blount County Sheriff's
Office received 47 calls related to the Werner Center between Jan. 1, 2000,
and Dec. 17, 2001.

The calls included four served warrants, seven assaults, 19 runaway and
missing persons calls, two vandalism complaints, seven sick-person calls
and eight disturbance calls.

Hall said, however, that all the calls to the Sheriff's Office were made by
the center staff itself "as part of a discipline plan and learning
experience for children who have difficulty handling their emotions
appropriately." None came from neighbors.

She noted the center had some problems with runaways shortly after it
opened in November 1999, but said there have been no complaints from
neighbors since January 2000.

"We've had some kids running through people's yards, but we've never had a
theft charge," Hall said.

Center Grandfathered

There was no zoning in place in the county at the time of the center's
opening, so there was no way opponents could prevent construction of the
center.

Now, however, some neighbors are asking the Planning Commission to reject
the building permit and site application on nuisance grounds.

A stack of letters in opposition to the expansion has been presented the
Planning Commission.

Blount County Building Commissioner Roger Fields said the Planning
Commission has no apparent reason to not allow the planned expansion. The
facility is considered to be grandfathered into the zoning ordinance, and
all site plans are in keeping with county zoning ordinances.

"They meet all the zoning requirements," Fields said. "They are not a
nuisance as far as the area requirements. They have the room. We're looking
for room for septic systems and setback requirements."

Approval Recommended

The planning department has recommended the site plan be approved.

Melton said the Planning Commission deferred a decision on the site plan
pending meetings between concerned community members and the facility. One
of those meetings has already taken place, and another will take place soon.

Hall said the center has already agreed to two requests by the opponents.
The center is buying 70 holly trees to provide a buffer from its nearest
neighbor and is sharing the cost of repairing another neighbor's fence that
was cut.

Hall also identified some neighbors who support the expansion.

The Planning Commission will likely take the issue up again in January.