Methadone clinic, 4/20/07

Huntington Mayor David Felinton hasn’t come out and said it directly, but his actions in recent weeks give rise to this suspicion: He doesn’t want any methadone clinics in Huntington.

Last week, Felinton scheduled a public hearing for next month to discuss the impact of the Huntington Treatment Center, a methadone clinic at 135 4th Ave., on the surrounding community. The public hearing will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 1, in City Council chambers at City Hall. It will take place during the council's monthly Public Safety Committee meeting.

Felinton has said for weeks that he favors shutting down the Huntington Treatment Center and moving it to another location because of complaints from nearby businesses and residents that patients solicit them for money, use parking spaces without permission and litter excessively, among other things.

The public hearing is one of the requirements needed for Felinton to declare the business a public nuisance. The city's legal department also is gathering data from the Cabell County 911 Center and local law enforcement agencies to see if there has been an increase in the number of emergency response calls to the area since the clinic opened in 2003.

"It's really not what goes on inside the clinic that is my concern," Felinton told Herald-Dispatch reporter Bryan Chambers. "It's what goes on outside. Nevertheless, the public hearing will provide an opportunity for people to speak for and against shutting it down."

Felinton also said this: "It's fine with me if the clinic stays in the city limits. ... But in a city of our size, it's difficult to see how that would be possible."

Felinton admits the practical effect of shutting down the clinic on 4th Avenue would be to force it to relocate outside city limits. He made no mention of any effort to help the clinic find an acceptable location within the city.

So much about this is disturbing. How many businesses or nonprofit organizations have customers, clients or patrons who consume large amounts of parking and litter? How many agencies attract panhandlers? How many bars attract people who litter or solicit for prostitution?

Why schedule a public hearing before the 911 Center compiles its information? How big a zone exists around day care centers and similar operations in which the city will limit certain businesses that otherwise comply with zoning laws?

Is this really not about methadone? Or is it about something else? Has he taken it upon himself to run a legal business out of town?