Bangor to consider methadone advisory panel

BANGOR – City officials will discuss steps to make sure local voices are heard with regard to Colonial Management Group’s plan to establish a methadone clinic in a busy retail center off Hogan Road.

During a meeting of the City Council’s government operations committee, which starts at 5 p.m. today at City Hall, councilors will consider establishing an advisory panel much like the one the city formed four years ago in response to Acadia Hospital’s plan to open its methadone treatment center.

The plan to appoint another committee arose during the council’s Nov. 29 public workshop on Colonial Management Group’s plan to open a methadone clinic in the Maine Square Mall, City Manager Edward Barrett said in a telephone interview Monday.

During last month’s workshop, Colonial representative Lynn Costigan said her company would be willing to work with such a group. Costigan could not be reached for comment Monday.

The first group, called the City Council’s Special Committee on Opiate Addiction, was established in 2000 in response to Acadia Hospital’s plans to open Bangor’s first methadone treatment program.

Though it was controversial in the beginning, Acadia’s program has been operating quietly for more than three years. The special committee has since been disbanded, Barrett said Monday.

During today’s meeting, city officials will consider appointing an advisory group focusing on Colonial’s plan.

“We’d like to get it started at least a little before [Colonial’s clinic] opens,” Barrett said, adding that the panel likely would come up with recommendations aimed at preventing problems from occurring.

According to a draft order councilors will consider today, the advisory panel likely would include representatives from: the city of Bangor; Colonial Management; the Bangor Police Department; the state Office of Substance Abuse; and businesses located in close proximity to Colonial’s proposed clinic.

The plan to establish the advisory panel is subject to approval by the full council, Barrett said.

The new group’s mission will involve ensuring the public has opportunities for input and comment on Colonial plans for a clinic.

More specifically, the group would:

. Advise Colonial Management on program operation, particularly in the areas of potential community impact, law enforcement and the need to balance client confidentiality with ensuring information important to the community, police and policy-makers is made available in a timely and appropriate fashion.

. Identify any clinic-related problems and develop recommendations on how any problems might be addressed.

. Work with program staff to identify regional trends in opiate addiction.

. Monitor compliance with any assurances Colonial makes during the clinic’s development phase.