Methadone Clinic Seeks to Open in North Adams

Spectrum Health Systems is planning a methadone clinic on Curran Highway.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Spectrum Health Systems is planning to open a methadone clinic at 1274 Curran Highway.

The private nonprofit operates 16 program centers in Massachusetts, including one in Pittsfield that initially ran into opposition but has operated quietly since 2012. It also has treatment centers in six other states and treats nearly 50,000 patients annually.

The building, formerly an A&W and more recently a child-care center and postal service business, will have 12 parking spaces and extended curb cut. According to the plans, landscaping will include plantings and grassy areas and a gated fence to the back of the property where there will be an exit-only egress. The property is owned by Ronald Ouimet.

Spectrum has applied for a special permit to operate a professional office and business services and will appear before the Planning Board on Monday night. The board's purview is limited to the site plan — parking, setbacks, landscaping, etc. — because it is considered primarily as an educational program so, by law, does not fall under planning.

In a letter to Building Inspector William Meranti, Spectrum's Chief Operating Officer Kurt A. Isaacson wrote that "this is the same program that we are currently operating at 10 other sites throughout the Commonwealth pursuant to licensure by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. ...

"The program is designed to improve the participants' quality of life and functional abilities by teaching them cognitive and behavioral skills through educational clinical groups held in classrooms, with each participant receiving between two-and-a-half to five hours of on-site education and behavior modification each week. Education is the primary component of the program and participation in the education component is mandatory."

Spectrum offers a variety of programming and counseling, from drug-free housing to mental health services to driver alcohol education. The North Adams substance abuse treatment center will also include educational and support programs.

Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
06:15PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.

 

More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.

 

Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.

 

One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 

 

"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."

 

Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.

 

Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC.