Mainspring Recovery Center withdraws zoning request; no longer seeking to establish treatment center in Pulaski
By MIKE WILLIAMS
The Patriot
Mainspring Recovery Center, LLC has withdrawn its zoning request before Pulaski Town Council.
News of their decision to withdraw the request came Tuesday night from Mayor Shannon Collins.
A public hearing on the issue had been scheduled for Tuesday’s meeting, however, Collins told those in attendance the hearing had been canceled due to Mainspring withdrawing their request.
Mainspring had hoped to obtain a Special Exception to R-1, Single Family Residential District zoning to allow them to operate a residential treatment center for substance abuse disorders at 2460 Lee Highway in Pulaski – next to the campus of LewisGale Hospital Pulaski.
The application indicated the facility would have had a capacity of 50 beds for an inpatient residential program and would serve clients 18 years or older with a substance use disorder diagnosis who are voluntarily admitting themselves from within a 60- to 70-mile radius.
Mainspring planned to invest approximately $1 million to renovate and open the facility, which is owned by David Hagan, and projected it would employ 53 people at the facility when opened.
Plans for the Pulaski facility came under fire almost immediately from local residents primarily due to concerns over traffic and security, the facility’s proximity to schools, area residences and the rehabilitation center across the street.
According to Dublin attorney Mike Barbour, local counsel for Mainspring, company officials “were very disappointed in the reaction of a majority of planning commission members toward their proposed project.”
“I think they did not assess the likely attitudes of a majority of the town council members to be more supportive of the project,” Barbour continued.
“These folks are opening a treatment center in Prince William County next month, and they have another treatment center under active development in the city of Lynchburg. So, they’re going to move forward right now aggressively with that project and it’s not their current intention at this time to pursue a site in Pulaski County,” he said.
December 8, 2022 @ 12:45 pm
Seems to me that the good folks of Pulaski would want to rid the surrounding area of the devastating effects that substance abuse has caused here. Unless you or your family have been directly involved in this growing epidemic, you show no concern. Keep ignoring the problem and it will sadly, eventually be at your front door. You can’t wish addiction away. Shame on this town for not wanting to help. Why not just line up the local addicts downtown and hold a public hanging?
Problem solved
Until it’s your child or grandchild in that line!
December 10, 2022 @ 6:09 am
Not surprised, Pulaski doesn’t really seem to take much interest in wanting to improve anything. The county has been overwhelmed with drug abuse issues and drug related crime for decades with very little results in any attempts to fix it. Just look at the overall condition of the downtown area with acres of commercial property filled with broken down old buildings unoccupied for years. It appears to me that Pulaski gave up on itself, and it’s residents a long time ago