City council put a new addictions treatment centre on a short leash Monday, asking its owners to come back to them in a year for re-approval.
Council approved a redistricting and development permit at Monday's meeting for a new addictions treatment centre at 10 Meadowview Lane. The centre, run by Poundmaker's Lodge Treatment Centres, will help women older than 50 overcome drug, alcohol and gambling addictions.
This centre will bring St. Albert international recognition, said Thelma Chalifoux, a board member with Poundmaker's, and help therapists find new ways to help women overcome addictions. "It's going to help put St. Albert on the map."
The centre itself will be inside a large house on Meadowview Drive leased by Poundmaker's and owned by the Oblates of St. Mary Immaculate.
According to presentations to council earlier this month, the centre will use a combination of psychology and spirituality to treat up to 20 women with addictions. It will be drug-free with 24-hour supervision. All clients will go through detox before arriving at the centre.
Approved with conditions
Council approved the centre with conditions. The house on the site was to be used as a treatment centre, library and research office and cannot be altered without the city's consent. Poundmaker's could not change the use of the site or add signs without council approval. The centre's permit would expire after 12 months, after which Poundmaker's could apply for a new one.
Coun. Cam MacKay added a requirement that Poundmaker's not be allowed to renew its permit after May 2015 — the date when its lease with the Oblates expires. This area was set to become a subdivision in the near future, he said, and having a treatment centre here could affect property values. "No one's thinking the worst of anyone, but we are trying to protect ourselves."
Poundmaker's must also inspect and upgrade the home's sewage system as required. Mayor Nolan Crouse forbade the centre from expanding the home's septic field as such fields affect groundwater.
Several councillors, including MacKay, Malcolm Parker and Wes Brodhead asked if they could require Poundmaker's to only treat senior women at the lodge and not change its focus in the future, such as treating children.
Age and gender restrictions in a permit would be impossible to police and open to legal challenge, said planning and development director Curtis Cundy. Council could always cancel Poundmaker's permit in 12 months if they don't like how they operate, he noted.
Poundmaker's has no plans to treat children at Meadowview, Chalifoux said, as they already have a youth treatment centre at Lac Ste. Anne.
The centre's clients pose no risk to the community, she added. "We have women who are ill coming here. They're not drunk, they're ill." They will also be very old, she added, referring to fears that the centre could have clients roaming the woods. "There's no way that old ladies over 50 years old would ever be running in the bushes."
Poundmaker's has run similar treatment programs at its centre east of St. Albert for 37 years without any problems, Chalifoux said. She invited anyone with concerns about the centre to come down for a tour.
Poundmaker's has already had the home's sewage system inspected, Chalifoux said, and would work with the Oblates to upgrade it.
Chalifoux thanked council for approving the centre, and said it would start taking clients next year. "Now we can move forward to work with the community and our older women."
