Plainfield  — The Zoning Board of Adjustment on Monday night unanimously approved a special exception to the use of the former Home Hill Inn property, the first step toward allowing a residential treatment center for youth to operate out of the River Road space.

The next step for Mountain Valley Treatment Center, currently operating in Haverhill in the village of Pike where it leases property, is to obtain site plan approval from the Planning Board.

Carl Lovejoy, an associate executive director with Mountain Valley, said they would like to be in their new location by early 2018, but that depends on several factors,  including making sure current students complete their treatment and improvements are made to the property. Lovejoy said they are still negotiating the purchase.

Mountain Valley provides treatment for adolescents battling anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder, among other things. It is closely regulated by the state Department of Health and Human Services. At Home Hill there would be a maximum of 24 students, boys and girls, at any one time with 30 full-time staff. At Pike, the population is between 16 and 20.

“We have outgrown Pike. It is time for Mountain Valley to take the next step,” said Jennifer Fullerton, also an associate executive director.

The presentation by Mountain Valley, discussion and deliberation by board members and a public hearing lasted a total of two hours before the board’s 5-0 vote.

No one spoke strongly against the special exception, which added a day care center use to the property — and some expressed support  — but there were a few concerns raised.

Gordon Bradstreet, who said he lives near Home Hill, wondered about whether any of the kids could walk away from the facility and get into the woods or even to the Connecticut River. He was also concerned about drug screening.

“If there is no drug screening, I think there could be issues,” Bradstreet said.

Fullerton said they do not accept students with substance abuse issues or those with behavioral problems.

“That is not the Mountain Valley kid,” Fullerton said. “They are so capable. We say no to 80 percent of the kids who apply. We know who we can work with.”

Both Fullerton and Lovejoy said several times that Mountain Valley has a highly structured program and the students are always under close supervision.

Mountain Valley is staffed 24/7.

“Wandering off just doesn’t happen,” said Brad Atwood, an attorney representing Mountain Valley.

In making the presentation to the ZBA, Lovejoy talked about the type of student they accept.

“We are working in a very narrow bandwidth of adolescents,” he said. “The Mountain Valley kid is bright, talented and compliant who because of his or her debilitating anxiety has become emotionally stuck to the point where they can’t go to school or sing in the chorus.

“The kids are missing a lot of school so we also can do credit recovery.”

Students spend 60 to 90 days at Mountain Valley getting counseling and therapy, including outdoor activities and on weekends, off campus trips.

“We are exposing them to their fears by engaging them in healthy activities,” Lovejoy said.

The program has treated 400 students since it began in 2011.

“It is treatable. We see kids get better,” Fullerton said.

The board and some of the public asked about noise and traffic but for the most part, agreed it would be no more than what was there when the inn last operated about four years ago and had wedding bands playing into the night.

“The activity we expect will be about the same as the inn,” Lovejoy said. “It is a quiet bunch. We have rules. In bed by 10 p.m., up at 7 a.m. There is going to be a healthy buzz on campus. I would like to say it won’t be a distracting one.”

As for traffic, board chairman Richard Colburn summed up the final analysis.

“There will be a slight increase in current traffic but a decrease from what was there,” he said.

When asked about growth, Lovejoy said they don’t anticipate building anything and promised they would not stray from their core mission.

“We are successful because we have been true to our mission,” Lovejoy said. “We are not going to change that. It would be the death knell of Mountain Valley.”

Two residents out of several at the meeting spoke strongly in favor of the proposal.

“I think it is a wonderful thing for this property to be used for,” Roger Grzegorowicz said.

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.

Correction

Carl Lovejoy is the associate executive director for communications and development at Mountain Valley Treatment Center. His first name was rendered incorrectly in an earlier version of this story.

 

 

]]>