Contract Signed to Purchase Property in Travelers Rest
The Greenville County Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse announced that they have signed a contract to purchase 36 acres of land adjoining the North Greenville Hospital in Travelers Rest for $800,000. The announcement was made during their October 25 monthly meeting.
If the property meets all of the environmental requirements, it could become the site for a $6.2 million adolescent drug treatment facility.
A commission inquiry as to restrictions on the use of the $6.2 million provided by the SC legislature resulted in a response from DAODAS cautioning against use of the funds to purchase an existing facility.
With commission elections set for December, the commission is divided on a number of issues. Pat Toomey, the current chairman who has held that position for only a few months, has not been nominated to succeed himself. The nominating committee has recommended Charlie Shipman for the leadership position.
During the commission meeting, several commissioners expressed displeasure with the way the commission has been doing business.
James Jones and R. H. Patterson objected to the minutes for the September 27 meeting stating that the motion by Thomas Inman to instruct the chairmen of the commission and the finance committee to give the executive director of the Phoenix Center the option of resigning or being fired, passed unanimously.
Patterson and Jones said they did not vote for that, however, Toomey ruled that he did not hear any “nay” votes.
Commissioner William Fleming was absent from the September meeting and complained that he was not informed of what was taking place.
“We are just like a bunch of animals in a cage,” Fleming said. “A lot of things have happened and I was not told. This was a cutthroat thing. We need to work together.”
The controversy regarding the relationship between the Phoenix Center and the Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse and Greenville County Council continues to fester.
The commission is currently directing the activities of the Phoenix Center and taking on some of the duties of the executive director.
Inman wants the commission to vote to change their bylaws to from an advisory to a governing body.
Chairman Toomey announced that the matter would be voted on at the December meeting.
Former Executive Director of the Phoenix Center, Linda Doud, attended the commission meeting as a private citizen. Following the meeting, Doud informed The Times Examiner that she was pleased to hear the positive reports from staff and commendations by commissioners regarding several of the initiatives she had taken during her tenure as executive director of the center.
Doud’s presence at the meeting seemed to ease some of the tensions that had developed from the controversial manner in which her sudden departure from the agency had been handled.
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