STUART, Fla. — The controversy over a proposed detox facility in Stuart continues as new questions emerged over claims the project's applicant made in a Local Planning Agency meeting.
Stuart city commissioners are scheduled Monday to discuss a proposal to change the land use designation at an old assisted living facility at the intersection of Kanner Highway and Southeast Indian Street.
The now vacant building's lot is currently zoned for mixed use. According to city documents, applicant Jason Ackner, the CEO of Behavioral Health Centers in Port St. Lucie, is asking commissioners to change the land use designation to commercial.
If they do, it would be the first step toward allowing him to build a 140-bed, out-of-network substance abuse and medical detox facility on the current lot.
Out-of-network means the home would also serve people outside the local community.
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Both Martin County Sheriff William Snyder and nurse practitioner Valerie Ferrara told WPTV weeks ago they had concerns over both the size of the building and the impact serving out-of-network clients could pose to the community.
Snyder and Ferrara said while they support a smaller, in-network facility, they worried about what would happen if those coming from out of state lose insurance coverage or decide to leave the facility on their own.
"When they do, they don't have money, they don't have ID, they don't have cellphones, and my concern is that they're going to find a fix," Ferrara said April 26. "What do they do to find that fix? They're going to steal. They're going to beg."
WPTV for weeks has been working to reach Ackner multiple times in multiple ways to address these concerns, but he still hasn't returned our request for comment.
Now, Snyder is contradicting comments Ackner made during a Local Planning Agency meeting.
In the March 14 meeting, Ackner told commissioners he has letters of support from community leaders, including a local sheriff.
"I have letters from the sheriff's office for the quality of work that we do," Ackner told commissioners.
Ackner didn't specify which sheriff wrote him a letter, but Snyder said it's definitely not him.
"Let me be unequivocal: I don't know who these people are," Snyder said. "They have never approached me."
Ackner said in the meeting that if facility residents leave for any reason, they won't be discharged and left on the street.
"If we're administratively discharging them because they're disturbing the serenity of other patients, or we feel they're a threat, we'll take them to the appropriate place," Ackner said.
Yet when he was questioned by Board Member Deana Peterson as to the origin of the patients, Ackner said about 50% of his patients in Port St. Lucie are from the state of Florida, while the other 50% come from across the country.
"So, it's not really a community thing. It's going to be for people from all over?" Peterson asked.
"Correct," Ackner replied.
Snyder said that effectively this is the issue he has with the project.
"The taxpayers are going to subsidize this business model because when the patients fail out, the money at home dries up. They will end up in my jail. They will end up at your Publix," Snyder said.
City Commissioner Troy McDonald wanted to clarify that while the city will hear the applicant's proposal and consider it fairly, commissioners will take the community's concerns into consideration during public comment Monday.
"The city is not proposing this. This is something the applicant has requested, and we're required by law to give them a hearing to have their opportunity because of their property rights," McDonald said.
The Stuart City Commission's meeting will be on Monday at 4 p.m.
Commissioners won't yet decide on the actual facility itself. If they approve the land use designation change, they'd still have to approve a zoning change and then vote on the facility itself.
