The mental health crisis center is on lockdown again, this time outside of Chillicothe

Ross County — Plans for a new multi-county mental health crisis center were thwarted again Tuesday afternoon. For the second time this year, Paint Valley ADAMH was denied permission to build on vacant land.

I attended the meeting and drew up this report from the agenda documents, comments made and my subsequent interviews.

ADAMH had requested an exception for a commercial driveway at 11485 County Road 550, just west of the interchange with US 35 and adjacent to the former Glassburn Pottery Store.

Because of the limited access restrictions caused by the interchange, the 13-acre parcel they had purchased had less road frontage than county regulations require to allow a commercial entrance.

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The request failed for lack of a second on the motion, so the 11-member Ross County Planning Commission could vote.

The goal of the Alcohol, Drug Dependence and Mental Health (ADAMH) Services Board of Paint Valley, from their website:

“The Paint Valley ADAMH Board ensures that individuals and families affected by mental illness and/or addiction have access to a high-quality recovery-oriented system of care.

“The Paint Valley ADAMH board was created in 1967 to ensure the availability of community-based alcohol, drug addiction and mental health services… (serving) residents of Fayette, Highland, Pickaway, Pike and Ross counties south of ‘Ohio.

“The ADAMH Board does not provide services directly, but instead contracts with a network of public and private health agencies to treat people in need.”

Paint Valley ADAMH had originally sought to build in Chillicothe’s East End in the spring, on nearly 12 acres on East Main Street southeast of the overpass. Because it was classified as “Limited Commercial,” they needed approval from the city’s Planning and Zoning Board.

The proposed nearly 14,000-square-foot residential facility would have eight beds, eight 23-hour observation “chairs” and three main approaches to helping people with mental health crises, but not drug use.

A well-attended hearing was held on April 10 and there was much opposition to the center, although not from the application. (Learn more about the proposed center and the situation in my previous story.)

The city board had to wait 30 days to respond after the hearing, but the request was withdrawn by ADAMH before that date.

Read more in the next story.