SUN STAFF
July 19, 2003 Saturday FINAL Edition
SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. 2B
LENGTH: 654 words
BYLINE: Laura Cadiz
Methadone clinic head says facility won't open at disputed Howard site;
Notification to state elates Columbia village residents
After facing fierce community opposition, the president of a methadone clinic proposed for Columbia's Oakland Mills village notified the state yesterday that he will not open the facility there.
Nelson J. Sabatini, secretary of the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said yesterday that he did not know if Aktam Zahalka, the clinic's president, intended to apply to operate his business at another location.
"Hallelujah!" Councilwoman Barbara Russell of Oakland Mills said after she heard the news. "I am absolutely joyful."
Oakland Mills residents and elected officials had been battling the clinic for four weeks after hearing it was to open in the Stevens Forest Professional Center, which is near four schools and three preschools or day care
centers.
In light of Oakland Mills' overwhelming opposition to the clinic, Sabatini is pledging to better notify the affected communities when such facilities are proposed. He said once the state receives an application for a methadone
clinic, the Health Department will notify the appropriate state delegates and place an ad in the local newspaper.
"I think that the community was voicing some very legitimate concerns about the appropriateness of a center like this being located in a place that was that close to a school," he said. "I also understand and recognize a need for addictions treatment, (and) we need to balance the community concerns with that need."
Zahalka could not be reached for comment yesterday. It was unclear why he decided not to operate the clinic in Oakland Mills after declaring July 9 that he would open it as planned.
The Oakland Mills community heard about Zahalka's planned clinic after a constituent alerted Howard County Councilman David A. Rakes. The community has held three meetings -- each with more than 100 residents in attendance -- to develop ways to protest the clinic. They started a petition drive and sent letters to local and state officials to make their opposition known.
Del. Shane E. Pendergrass, a Howard County Democrat, called the decision not to open the clinic "the good news of the summer" and congratulated residents on their protest.
"It's particularly heartwarming because the Oakland Mills residents did this, " she said. "I hope all of the residents of Oakland Mills are feeling very, very good about what they can accomplish when they work together within the law."
Rakes had led efforts to persuade Zahalka and Whalen Properties, which owns the office space, to move the clinic to a nonresidential area. This month, he and Zahalka visited some alternative sites but were unsuccessful in finding an office that Zahalka deemed appropriate.
Part of Zahalka's demands for moving to a new location included that he be reimbursed the $5,587 he invested in the space, and Whalen Properties also wanted to be paid $14,000 for the money spent on renovating the office
space.
But Rakes said yesterday the money demand is now "off the table."
"He's essentially leaving on his own, so he can't say we caused him to leave, " Rakes said. "From our standpoint, that's a nonissue."
Zahalka's lease began July 1, but his business, the Human Care Development Service clinic, was never fully approved to dispense methadone, a synthetic opiate given to heroin addicts to help control withdrawal symptoms and curb their habit.
Methadone facilities need certification by the state Office of Health Care Quality, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, an arm of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services.
Despite the opposition to the facility in their area, Russell said she hopes Zahalka is successful in finding an appropriate location for his clinic.
"I wish him well," Russell said. "We were never against him opening a methadone clinic. We were only against him opening one in the middle of our community, near our schools."
Copyright 2003 The Baltimore Sun Company
All Rights Reserved
The Baltimore Sun
July 19, 2003 Saturday FINAL Edition
SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. 2B
LENGTH: 654 words
BYLINE: Laura Cadiz
Methadone clinic head says facility won't open at disputed Howard site;
Notification to state elates Columbia village residents
After facing fierce community opposition, the president of a methadone clinic proposed for Columbia's Oakland Mills village notified the state yesterday that he will not open the facility there.
Nelson J. Sabatini, secretary of the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said yesterday that he did not know if Aktam Zahalka, the clinic's president, intended to apply to operate his business at another location.
"Hallelujah!" Councilwoman Barbara Russell of Oakland Mills said after she heard the news. "I am absolutely joyful."
Oakland Mills residents and elected officials had been battling the clinic for four weeks after hearing it was to open in the Stevens Forest Professional Center, which is near four schools and three preschools or day care
centers.
In light of Oakland Mills' overwhelming opposition to the clinic, Sabatini is pledging to better notify the affected communities when such facilities are proposed. He said once the state receives an application for a methadone
clinic, the Health Department will notify the appropriate state delegates and place an ad in the local newspaper.
"I think that the community was voicing some very legitimate concerns about the appropriateness of a center like this being located in a place that was that close to a school," he said. "I also understand and recognize a need for addictions treatment, (and) we need to balance the community concerns with that need."
Zahalka could not be reached for comment yesterday. It was unclear why he decided not to operate the clinic in Oakland Mills after declaring July 9 that he would open it as planned.
The Oakland Mills community heard about Zahalka's planned clinic after a constituent alerted Howard County Councilman David A. Rakes. The community has held three meetings -- each with more than 100 residents in attendance -- to develop ways to protest the clinic. They started a petition drive and sent letters to local and state officials to make their opposition known.
Del. Shane E. Pendergrass, a Howard County Democrat, called the decision not to open the clinic "the good news of the summer" and congratulated residents on their protest.
"It's particularly heartwarming because the Oakland Mills residents did this, " she said. "I hope all of the residents of Oakland Mills are feeling very, very good about what they can accomplish when they work together within the law."
Rakes had led efforts to persuade Zahalka and Whalen Properties, which owns the office space, to move the clinic to a nonresidential area. This month, he and Zahalka visited some alternative sites but were unsuccessful in finding an office that Zahalka deemed appropriate.
Part of Zahalka's demands for moving to a new location included that he be reimbursed the $5,587 he invested in the space, and Whalen Properties also wanted to be paid $14,000 for the money spent on renovating the office
space.
But Rakes said yesterday the money demand is now "off the table."
"He's essentially leaving on his own, so he can't say we caused him to leave, " Rakes said. "From our standpoint, that's a nonissue."
Zahalka's lease began July 1, but his business, the Human Care Development Service clinic, was never fully approved to dispense methadone, a synthetic opiate given to heroin addicts to help control withdrawal symptoms and curb their habit.
Methadone facilities need certification by the state Office of Health Care Quality, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, an arm of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services.
Despite the opposition to the facility in their area, Russell said she hopes Zahalka is successful in finding an appropriate location for his clinic.
"I wish him well," Russell said. "We were never against him opening a methadone clinic. We were only against him opening one in the middle of our community, near our schools."
Copyright 2003 The Baltimore Sun Company
All Rights Reserved
The Baltimore Sun
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