COMPANY 'UNDECIDED' ABOUT OPERATING METHADONE CLINIC IN LACONIA

The company that wants to operate a methadone clinic in the O'Shea
Industrial Park has not appealed a planning board condition that it
have a uniformed police officer and cruiser on site during all hours
of operation and on Monday a representative said Colonial Management
Group was "undecided" about its future in Laconia.

CMG -- which is based in Orlando, Fla., and has 54 methadone clinics
across the U.S. and which as Metro Treatment-New Hampshire operates
clinics in Concord, Keene and Manchester -- has previously received
an administrative approval from City Planner Shanna Saunders to use
a portion of the former Tangent Tool building at 72 Primrose Drive as
a clinic.

Saunders allowed a change of use for the space from "light
industrial" to "medical clinic" but, in response to concerns raised
by neighbors and the Laconia Police Department about impaired persons
driving to or from the clinic, she ordered that CMG had to hire and
have on premises at all times a uniformed police officer and a
police cruiser.

Joe Sullivan, director of development for Colonial Management Group,
said the condition was arbitrary, onerous and expensive, potentially
costing his company more than $100,000 a year. CMG has proposed
operating from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. Mondays through Fridays and from 6
a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

CMG appealed the condition to the planning board which, on June 2,
upheld it while adding an amendment that allows CMG to come back and
appeal the condition after four years, which is when the clinic would
have reached its full complement of 200 patients and had a full year
to operate.

CMG had until last Thursday to appeal the planning board decision to
Belknap County Superior Court but it did not do so.

On Monday, when contacted by The Citizen, Sullivan said he preferred
not to discuss the matter but, when asked what CMG's plans were for
Laconia, replied that they were up in the air.

Last week, Saunders responded to an inquiry from CMG, telling the
company that the intent of the June 2 amendment "was to have the
officer and vehicle on site for the full duration of open office
hours," not just when the clinic would be dispensing methadone to its
clients.

Sullivan had e-mailed Saunders seeking a clarification of the
approval condition, questioning whether the officer and cruiser were
required in the latter parts of the business day when clinic
employees would be doing administrative duties only, not dispensing
methadone.

In the notice of action to CMG, Saunders wrote that having the
officer and cruiser on hand for the four years would "provide a sense
of security for patrons of the clinic and the community at large, and
to reduce the risk of illicit activities occurring on the site or of
impaired vehicular operators driving to and from the site."

She said the condition was upheld based on the testimony of Police
Capt. Steve Clarke during the board's April 7 meeting, "as well as
the fact that the applicant was unable to provide convincing
information that the applicant themselves were able to provide their
own security such that illicit activities will not occur on the site
and impaired vehicular operators driving to and from the site will be
stopped."

Sullivan said a private security guard could accomplish what Saunders
was seeking and stated that there have never been any problems at
CMG's clinics in New Hampshire.

Saunders said CMG now has two choices: to meet the requirements of
the condition and be able to open or not accept the condition and not
open. She added that the administrative approval she granted for the
clinic is good for one year from the date of the planning board's
action on the appeal.

As of Monday afternoon, Clarke said the LPD had not been contacted by
CMG to discuss the police detail it would need to open its Laconia
clinic.

The city charges $49.66 for a uniformed police officer to work an
outside detail plus $25 for four hours' use of a cruiser. Among the
police department's outside detail clients are road construction
companies; downtown lounges; South Down Shores --the gated
residential community pays for a patrol; as well as the School
Department which has officers on-site for dances and various athletic
contests. Officers also are available to provide security for private
functions such as weddings and for companies which are dealing with
strikes or layoffs.

"They [CMG] have not contacted us as far as I know of," said Clarke.
"To comply, all they would need to do is contact myself or Lt. Chris
Adams to set up the detail. It's the standard rate for everybody.
They would be billed, usually on a weekly basis."

CMG's plan to operate a methadone clinic in Laconia has been
controversial from the start, with a large number of residents, as
well as the entire City Council, objecting to it. However, Sullivan
and some citizens point out that there is an opioid drug addiction
problem in the area and that a clinic here would help alleviate it.