Wilmington Detox Center Opponents Force Town Meeting: Report

WILMINGTON, MA -- A group led by Wilmington Selectmen Michael McCoy has reportedly gathered enough signatures to force a special town meeting that would change the town's bylaws tolimit drug treatment facilities to areas of town zoned "general industrial," according to a report published Friday by the Wilmington Apple. The group is made up of residents that had opposed a plan to build a detox center at 362 Middlesex Avenue and collected 649 signatures, well above the 200 needed to call a special town meeting. The next step is for selectmen to schedule the town meeting; the new rules would require 2/3rds majority approval of town meeting.

While the project's backers have seemed to cool to the site at 362 Middlesex Avenue and are considering other options, McCoy is seemingly hoping to avoid a repeat of the debate that split Wilmington residents and officials. On one side are residents who argue that the a 48-bed detox center is needed in Wilmington, which, like dozens of other Massachusetts towns, is facing an opioid epidemic. Wilmington Police have responded to 40 reported overdoses so far this year. On the other are North Wilmington residents who live near the lot and have raised concerns about the quality of live and the impact on property values, as well as questions about the proposal's backers.

The possibility of a special town meeting came up at the Selectmen's meeting on October 10, when McCoy first suggested a special town meeting to consider the bylaw changes. The meeting would cost the town between $7,500 and $8,000, which McCoy said would be "money well spent...This will give a comfort level to folks who will be able to sleep easy at night."

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More on this story:

• Wilmington Detox Facility Backers Considering Other Sites For Controversial Proposal (10/10/2017)
• Residents Start Petition Opposing Wilmington Detox Facility Proposal (10/5/2017)
• Who Are The Other Partners Behind The Wilmington Detox Center Proposal? (10/4/2017)
• Lead Backer Pulls Out Of Group That Wants To Build Wilmington Drug Addiction Treatment Facility(9/27/2017)
• More Questions, Concerns Raised About Wilmington Detox Facility Backer, Proposal (9/27/2017)
• Wilmington Official Who Would Decide Fate Of Detox Center Calls Drug Addicted 'Junkies'(10/16/2017)

For more on this story, see the Wilmington Apple.

Photo by Dave Copeland.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).