The Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council wants to build an Adolescent Recovery and Wellness Center in the town of Cassian.
They applied for a conditional use permit through the Oneida County Planning and Zoning Department.
At Wednesday’s meeting, the county decided to extend review time by an additional 180 days.
At the Oneida County Planning and Zoning meeting, the committee deliberated on the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council’s conditional use permit for their Adolescent Recovery and Wellness substance abuse treatment center.
Since GLITC introduced their project, they’ve received opposition and questions from Cassian residents, which were discussed at the meeting.
Their concerns range from the impact on property value to if groundwater in the area can support the facility.
GLITC's lawyer sent this letter to WXPR in response to questions raised at the December 28th Planning and Zoning Committee Meeting. They directly counter concerns that property values may fall with the establishment of the center, while addressing other issues.
After being asked if GLITC would derestrict the deed so that the property couldn’t be deemed tax exempt in the future, Rodney Carter, GLITC’s lawyer, said-
“We would deed restrict it if the county could show it's made that requirement of other applicants.”
Some of the questions from the committee concerned Bryan Bainbridge, President of GLITC.
“Along with the rest of the questions that have come up really do show that, as the attorney had mentioned, a racial bias and we have to make sure that we steer, steer clear of that,” he said.
To which the committee responded- “what I'm doing is I'm asking questions, and it's not some racial about this with me.”
Shannon Holsey, President of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, responded to numerous concerns, including whether there was a priority for Native children at the facility.
“No, it isn't a priority. It's who is in need of those services, just like you would find, if you drive to Rhinelander and utilize their facility,” she said.
The committee ultimately decided to extend review time of the permit by an additional 180 days so that GLITC could revise their application.
They highlighted the center’s fire safety plan, security plan, and road plan as all outstanding issues requiring revision.
I spoke with Bainbridge, and James Crawford, chairman of the Forest County Potawatomi Community, after the meeting. They told me they were disappointed by the meeting’s outcome.
Holsey said she fully expected Wednesday’s meeting to be full of questions.
“I believe they were just doing their due diligence in terms of trying to make those determinations to make sure that our project would meet the thresholds that are required to get permitted, but also to make sure that once we do that, that everybody is safe,” she said.
Patty Francoeur, Town Chair of Cassian, said she expected more solid answers from GLITC and reiterated that the town was not prejudiced against the group.
