A crowd of nearly 200 packed the Turlock City Council chambers Tuesday, filling two overflow areas and lining the hallway between them for nearly three hours of discussion about plans for a behavioral health facility to be operated at the former Russ Town site. did. Residential care facility for the elderly in Palmas.
Meanwhile, the city objected to the county’s plan to secure more housing in Turlock for patients with mental health and substance abuse disorders. During a meandering 30-minute opening statement, City Attorney George Petrulakis criticized the county and A&A Health Services, the company with which the county contracted to provide housing on the site, for failing to be more proactive about the plan. He sometimes criticized him for his actions.
“Fundamentally, I think the county and (A&A) are doing a very good job,” Petrulakis said. “The messages they’re sharing are very similar. Fundamentally, it’s pretty much the same usage, it’s been used for decades, and there’s no change in usage. To me, it’s a bit repetitive and boring. It became a thing, and that’s the approach they took.”
At the Board of Supervisors’ weekly meeting in Modesto earlier Tuesday, District 3 Supervisor Terry Withrow apologized for the misunderstanding between the agencies.
“I feel like to some extent I’m not doing my job,” Withrow said. “I thought this was no big deal. I’m so glad we have these facilities. It’s what we need right now to deal with homelessness and get people off the streets. It’s all about the country finally getting back on its feet and allowing us to do more to provide these people with the services they need, change their lives, and basically save their lives.
“So, here’s some of what happened with Turlock. I apologize if there seems to be any misinformation.”
Four City Council members Kevin Bixel, Rebecca Mones, Cassandra Abram, and Pam Franco attended the oversight meeting, as well as City Administrator Regan Wilson, but no one spoke during the public comment period. There was no one there.
Petrulakis and Mayor Amy Bublak said they watched the meeting online.
The Turlock City Council was packed Tuesday and two more overflow rooms were added as community members came to voice their opinions on a proposed mental health and substance abuse facility on Colorado Avenue. (JOE CORTEZ/ The Journal).
District 2 Supervisor Vito Chiesa, whose district includes Turlock, was one of the first speakers to take the stage at the City Council meeting.
“I think most of the neighbors, I talked to some of the people sitting here today, they talked about this being a behavioral health facility,” Chiesa said. “I think we heard that there were behavioral health consumers being treated in that building. We can sit there and argue about zoning and what was legal there, but the law… I don’t know because I’m not an expert, but it’s true that we put patients there.”
After the three-minute time limit expired, Chiesa was cut off mid-sentence by Bublac, which apparently did not please the coach.
Supervisors Buck Condit (District 1), Mani Grewal (District 4), Chance Condit (District 5), County Counselor Thomas Bose, and County Director of Behavioral Health and Recovery Services. Tony Vartan was also in attendance.
Turlock Police Lt. David Shaw addressed the City Council and detailed the results of a conversation he had with law enforcement personnel near the A&A facility in San Pablo.
“When we first opened the facility, we were responding to over 300 calls a month for the first few months,” Shaw said, adding that the San Pablo facility has about 235 beds, which is the same as the Turlock That’s nearly three times the number of beds proposed for the facility, he noted. . “They were going out seven or eight times a day.”
Law enforcement officials went on to tell the show that after working with A&A, calls have been reduced to 30 to 40 per month.
Betty Dominici, CEO of Alamo Senior Living Management (A&A), made brief comments about her dissatisfaction with the city’s treatment, then gave up the opportunity to make closing statements.
Turlock Unified School District Superintendent Dana Trevethan spoke out against the project, saying 4,752 students ages 3 to 18 attend schools within one mile of the facility.
“We respectfully request immediate action and work with local, county and state officials to secure alternative locations that are not near schools or youth,” Trevethan said. “Five of his 15 schools in Turlock Unified are within a mile of him from the renovated Alamo facility.”
Overall, more than 30 speakers expressed their views on the facility, with the majority opposing the plans.
Candace Peterson reminded Congress to remember the main reason for the debate in the first place. That is, a behavioral health facility is needed in Turlock, regardless of where it ends up operating.
“I’ve heard this from parents, and I’m a parent myself,” Peterson said. “I heard from a neighbor. I’m a neighbor. I live within about a quarter-mile,” Peterson said. “But there is a group that hasn’t been addressed yet, and I’m a member of that group. I’m a patient. I couldn’t leave. That was part of the rules. When I was released, I moved back to my house, four houses away from Crowell (elementary) school. Obviously, I survived, I thrived, I was here now. …Please do something for this other group of people who are also in need, who are desperate, who are victimized, who don’t have the help they need. Please do something for us.”
Towards the end of the public comment marathon, former City Councilman Andrew Nosrati took to the stage to call city leaders to task.
“It’s clear that we are not sitting down and talking, collaborating and building a fruitful relationship with the county to address these fundamental needs,” Nosrati said. “When you look at the agenda of what we’re doing, it’s another agenda that’s completely talk and no action. This is what the city of Turlock looks like as we deal with this crisis.”
Nosrati’s final comments were aimed specifically at Bublak and Petrulakis.
“Giving elected officials three minutes is incredibly inappropriate and unprofessional,” Nosrati told the mayor. “He was actually presenting facts to clear up any confusion. During that time, we spoke with the attorney for 35 minutes and no one knew what was said.”
In their closing comments, Bublac, Franco and Monez each said they could not support the project on the current site, while Bixel and Abram said the site is problematic and the will of the people is clear. acknowledged that more information was needed.
The council took no formal action.
