Facility not needed

I am writing to you about the Sequim City Council Meeting on Monday (July 8):

I learned about the MAT (medication-assisted addiction treatment) facility wanting to be built by the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Jefferson County and OMC in Sequim … behind Costco. There is a Facebook page called Sequim Against MAT that I learned about and I learned a lot from reading posts on that site, too.

Former addicts I talked with at the Sequim City Council meeting are against MAT because it does not help them get off drugs but stay on Methadone.

We have a facility and doctors here that are already doing this. We do not need this facility.

If Jamestown, Jefferson and OMC want to build a new facility and a bigger live-in treatment place, they should pick an area not in a town — like Blyn, between Jefferson County and Sequim and Port Angeles.

Rose Marschall

Sequim

A deal done?

Your July 10 article entitled “Community members rally at city against MAT facility” (Sequim Gazette, page A-1) raises a flag in my mind:

Namely your article states “ … The (S’Klallam) Tribe, OMC and Jefferson Health Care applied for … (and received) a $7.2 million grant … (for MAT seed money).”

This statement disturbs me in that it infers that Sequim and Clallam citizens were outside this decision loop. If so, why so?

Is this is the case, why are “outsiders” trying to shove this undesired and unpopular project on us rather than in their own back yard?

Moreover, $7.2 million is a lot of money; why such a large expense for Phase 1 study? Are some of the cards being dealt under the table?

Dr. Gerald J. Stiles

Sequim