Residents in uproar over plan

By Damian Gessel
The Daily Item

Sun, May 18 2008

— BEAVER SPRINGS -- A Williamsport-based company's plan to bring a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center to Beaver Springs has dozens of local residents furious.
More than 75 people squeezed into the tiny Spring Township Municipal Building Tuesday in a show of opposition to Alcat Reentry Centers Inc.'s March 18 purchase of a building along Route 522. Many here are worried the facility -- a subsidiary of Firetree Ltd. -- will bump up crime and burden taxpayers.
"I've read about residents in halfway houses getting out, breaking free, raping and killing. I'm worried about the area's overall public safety," said Beaver Springs resident Stephanie Friel, who said she left Pittsburgh, in part, because of crime.
Snyder County commissioners weren't thrilled with news of Alcat's purchase of the former T & T Bargain Boys building, either. Chairman Joe Kantz attended Tuesday's Spring Township meeting, lending words of reason to a session that several times threatened to dip into anger and disorder.
"We're doing everything we can. This is top priority for us until we get some answers," Kantz said, adding that the commissioners are looking into a few "small glimmers of hope" for preventing the rehabilitation facility from coming to Snyder County.
Among other concerns, Kantz is worried the nonprofit facility will eat up thousands of dollars in tax revenue.
But Allen Ertel, chairman of the executive committee for Firetree Ltd., dismissed residents' fears in a phone interview on Tuesday.
"People are misinformed. They're making inaccurate assumptions. I've seen the e-mail," Ertel said, referring to the online e-mail chain that drew many Beaver Springs residents to Tuesday's meeting. "They're out to destroy everything. I don't believe they're doing what's good for the community."
Firetree is considering Alcat only for a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility, not for a halfway house, Ertel said. He also dismissed the notion Alcat would bring "undesirable elements" to Snyder County.
"When someone is only here for 30-60 days, there are no camp followers. Those are for a prison, and we're not a prison," he said.
Most of Firetree's six rehab facilities have faced local opposition, Ertel said. Two -- one planned for Upper Augusta Township, Northumberland County, and another planned for Laurelton -- were shot down by local leaders.
"It's the old NIMBY complex," Ertel said. "Not in my backyard."
But those that stuck, he said, have gained acceptance from the community.
"You can call over to Wernersville (where several Firetree facilities are located). Call the police chief, call the supervisors, call the county commissioners. They all support us," Ertel said.
Alcat would bring high-paying jobs to Snyder County, Ertel said.
Ertel said the goal of facilities like Alcat -- which he pointed out will likely consist of around 30 employees and 50 residents -- is to curb addiction.
"I was a prosecutor for many years. I saw a drunk driver kill a family of five. I know that prosecuting them isn't the answer. The answer is to make them stop drinking," Ertel said.
No one from Firetree or Alcat attended Tuesday's Spring Township meeting, leaving residents to plot how to cut the facility off at the pass.
Barry Chesney, Spring Township Planning Commission chairman, said he has scoured the township code for any loophole to deny the rehabilitation facility.
Kantz said there may not be much residents can do at this point.
"We're behind the eight-ball already. They've spent almost a half-million dollars on the property," Kantz said. "They're not going away."
n E-mail comments to dgessel@dailyitem.com.

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