ALABASTER OFFICIALS OPPOSE DRUG CLINIC

A corporation that wants to open a methadone clinic in Alabaster has chosen
a site down the street from City Hall.

If approved by state health officials, the Cahaba Valley Treatment Center
would open at 395 First St. Southwest.

Methadone is a prescribed drug that is taken by mouth to reduce the desire
for other drugs, such as heroin and painkillers.

Alabaster Police Chief Stanley Oliver said he has "a serious problem" with
the proposed location.

Oliver said the clinic would be next to a bar, a restaurant and a hair
salon. It would be across from shopping centers and behind a drug store, he
said.

Mayor At Odds

Mayor David Frings said he and the City Council don't think the clinic
would fit anywhere in Alabaster. "We're committed to making sure that it
does not come to our city," he said.

Robert White, a partner in the corporation trying to open the clinic, said
the proposed location is ideal because it's tucked away, out of sight from
everything else around it.

"It's the best spot I've ever seen for one," White said. "I see no problem
with it, whatsoever."

Oliver said people will have to travel through major intersections such as
U.S. 31 and Alabama 119 to get to the clinic. "We're going to fight it," he
said.

The Alabaster City Council has passed two resolutions stating its
opposition to the clinic, one for each letter of intent White has filed
with the Alabama State Health Planning and Development Agency.

In December, White, on behalf of the Northwest Alabama Treatment Center in
Bessemer, notified the agency of plans to open a clinic in Alabaster.

In the second letter, White recently informed the agency that some owners
of the Bessemer methadone clinic have chosen not to participate in applying
for permission to open the Alabaster treatment center.

City officials said the latest resolution against the clinic will be sent
to White, the state planning agency and Shelby County District Attorney
Robby Owens.

Alabaster's fight to keep a methadone clinic out of the city follows an
ongoing legal battle by residents of nearby Saginaw against a different set
of partners proposing to open a clinic in their community.

Judicial Roadblock

In that case, the state approved the application for a clinic called Shelby
Treatment Center, but a judge blocked its opening.

Circuit Judge Dan Reeves ruled that Saginaw residents had not been given an
opportunity to participate in public discussion before the application was
approved. His ruling has been appealed.

White stated in the recent letter to state health planners that Cahaba
Valley Treatment Center wants to make sure it follows the proper steps in
resubmitting its application because "we're very sensitive about proper
notification to the residents of Shelby County."

Frings said whether White is being above-board in the application process
is irrelevant. He said city officials don't want the clinic because of the
negative elements they believe it would bring with it.