Alex Township denies permit for treatment facility
By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor
Summit Counseling’s plan to convert a 17,000 square foot building southwest of Alexander into a 16-bed alcohol and drug treatment center suffered a major setback on Thursday, June 28, when the three-member Alex Township Board unanimously rejected their Planned Use Development application.
“No one disagrees we need a treatment facility,” stated Jay Lewis, township chairman, as he called for a vote following a 30-minute public hearing. “But we have a petition signed by 70 percent of the township residents asking us to deny the application.”
For Jude Helling, who said that she had 112 signatures opposing the facility from residents around the county, her opposition wasn’t about the need for the treatment center, it was about its proposed location.
“We need this facility,” stated Helling. “But not in the middle of a pasture. I’ve even met with the Governor and asked him to help us resolve this and find an alternative site.”
Summit Counseling is currently under contract to buy the building, which is located about one mile southwest of the Wild Bison Travel Center off of Highway 68 on a private road and is approximately five miles outside of the city of Alexander.
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