CLACKAMAS COUNTY, Ore. — Clackamas County commissioners voted Thursday to authorize the purchase of former Clackamas Elementary School, which will be developed into a recovery center for adults struggling with substance abuse.
The motion passed 4-0, with Commissioner Paul Savas being absent due to a regional meeting.
The five-member board discussed plans during a county meeting on Tuesday, which includes purchasing the site of the former elementary school located on Southeast 92nd Avenue. The proposed location is just over six acres and is currently owned by the North Clackamas Parks and Recreation District, with a price tag of $3.5 million.
On Tuesday, the center was described as eventually hosting a longer-term program with wrap-around services.
"(Clients) may live there for up to a year. It's not the typical one and done, 'You've had a couple of sessions, so you're done.' Or, 'You can stay here for 60 days and you're done,'" said project manager Cindy Becker. "We're really looking at what the individual needs are and putting together an expansive program to wrap around, to help these individuals go through the recovery journey and go back to the community."
The county website says detox, treatment beds, mental health services, transitional housing and job skills development will all be offered, though the full list of services has yet to be completed.
"I'm really proud that we're now coming up with real resources that this state just has not had for a really, really long time," said Commissioner Ben West. "We set forth about a year or so ago that we believe that in Clackamas County recovery is possible and that the goal is for people to be healed and to be sober."
KGW reached out to the county and asked if the recovery center would be used as a treatment option for eligible people caught with hard drugs who choose to "deflect" into treatment in lieu of jail. The county said the recovery center is not connected to the deflection program in any way and is a separate program.
"If they are assessed and appropriate to be in that portion of the system, they may be in a different portion of our recovery system, and then end up there," said West on Thursday when asked if those deflecting would be placed at the recovery center.
The county's meeting agenda from Tuesday lists the funding sources for the purchase of the site as Supportive Housing Services tax funds, Community Mental Health Program and American Rescue Plan Act funds, adding that no county general funds are involved.
Supportive Housing Services funded $1.5 million, Community of Mental Health Program funded $1 million, and the American Rescue Plan Act funded the remaining $1 million.
The county says the framework for this recovery program was derived from recommendations made by panelists at the Clackamas Addictions Recovery Summit in 2023.
"It's the intent of the county to provide the seed money for the one-time startup construction costs," Becker said.
As for the operation of the center, Becker said the service provider they select will then foot the bill for building and operating the center. She added that the state's Medicaid program will pick up ongoing operational costs and for those without insurance; payment would come from the state's behavioral health funds.
Becker added that the county is hoping to secure an experienced service provider in December, though they do not have a firm timeline detailing when the center would open.
Commissioner Mark Shull called the project a step forward, but cautioned against creating a program that's financially unsustainable.
"My expectation that the county and the entity that is responsible for managing and operating the addiction recovery center, do it with total commitment to maintaining the peace and security of the existing neighborhood."
"We need to make sure ambition and our enthusiasm for the project are in line with the scope of the project and the scope of the project should be dictated by the observed need in the county," Shull said.
Clackamas County Chair Tootie Smith ended Tuesday's discussion by saying it was a "very good day" during the meeting, while also remarking that the county just needs to "figure out how to pay for it."
"We're going to be creative; we're going to reach out to a lot of different entities," Smith said. "I don't believe the burden is solely going to be on our shoulders to pay for this."
The county website lists a funding goal of $35-40 million.
Commissioner Ben West said that the county will be using a Notice of Funding Opportunity, so partners can work with them financially regarding how they want to help build the future campus.
West said he hopes ground can be broken by next year.
Other commissioners like Shull acknowledged some of the common concerns with the new center, and said the purchase comes with great responsibility.
Maria Lois works across from where the center will operate, and while she said it's a good space and does believe it's a great move for people in need, she's worried about issues like car break-ins.
Some neighbors are also worried that crime in the area will increase, and that their property values will go down.
West said not to worry.
“There will be high accountability to make sure that this works, that the community is safe, clean and vibrant, and we believe this is something that will actually enhance that and we are committed to planning it in that way," he said.
"We plan on this being a destination and an asset to the community in a way that this recovery campus and those that are engaged in it will have the opportunity to give back and be good community members as part of their own recovery," West continued.