A draft environmental assessment on a proposed residential treatment facility for adolescents on Kauai battling substance abuse is now available for public review.
Life’s Choices Kauai, a county agency that offers programs on substance abuse prevention, proposes building a treatment and healing center in Lihue at an estimated cost of
$4.5 million to $5 million.
Grove Farm Co. Inc. signed a memorandum of agreement with the county in June 2015 for 5 acres of vacant agriculture-zoned land on the southeast side of the intersection of Maalo and Ehiku roads. The agreement authorized the county to conduct surveys for an environmental assessment and submit permit applications for the development of the proposed treatment facility.
A previous site proposal was opposed by residents concerned about the treatment center’s proximity to neighborhoods and its potential impact on a cultural site.
The county plans to have 10 beds at the treatment facility, which will offer individual and group counseling, family services, aftercare and outpatient treatment programs. Operations would support up to eight clients at a time.
A treatment center on the island would allow young patients to remain near their families while also reducing the financial burden of airfare and lodging costs, according to the draft assessment.
Youth on Kauai battling substance abuse are typically sent to the Bobby Benson Center on Oahu, where the state pays $420 a day for treatment.
The concept of an adolescent treatment center was first proposed under the late Mayor Bryan Baptiste in 2003. A site near Hanapepe Salt Ponds was rejected over concerns about safety and potential impacts on the ponds. County officials later proposed a site in the Isenberg subdivision that again met resistance over concern that the facility was too close to homes, according to the draft.
The proposed location off Maalo Road is regarded by county officials as ideal for serving clients from all areas of the island, and is seen as a reasonable distance from residential neighborhoods.
To view the draft environmental assessment, visit bit.ly/2a6N4HE.
The public may submit comments on the draft by Aug. 22 to Theresa Koki, coordinator of Life’s Choices Kauai, at tkoki@kauai.gov or by mail to 4444 Rice St. Suite 235, Lihue, HI 96766. Comments also may be sent to John Kirkpatrick of consultant Belt Collins Hawaii LLC at jkirkpatrick@bch
design.com or by mail to 2153 N. King St. Suite 200, Honolulu, HI 96819.
