Commissioners deny CREOKS zoning appeal

Undeterred by the Sallisaw Planning Commission’s denial last week of a rezoning request that would have cleared the way for a proposed crisis treatment center in a north side residential neighborhood, CREOKS Health Services took its case to Sallisaw City Commissioners in hopes of receiving an 11thhour reprieve.

But city commissioners refused to overturn the planning commission’s decision regarding CREOKS’ request to rezone property at 1108 N. Wheeler (U.S. 59) from commercial office (C-1) to highway commercial and commercial recreation (C-4).

More than 40 citizens turned out for the Monday night meeting, but Mayor Ernie Martens, while expressing his appreciation for their interest and attendance, advised them that no public comment item was on the agenda, and FROM PAGE A1

that no one would be allowed to address the commissioners during the meeting.

In his appeal to the city commissioners, CREOKS chief executive officer Brent Black explained that a crisis center and urgent care facility has been mandated by the state for every county.

“What we have looked at wanting to do is to put a crisis center and urgent care [at our location at 1108 N. Wheeler]. The state of Oklahoma approached us last year and asked us to put in a urgent care and crisis center in Sequoyah County, they contracted with us to do that. Also last year, the state of Oklahoma mandated every county, 20,000 or more [population], would be required to have a crisis center/urgent care. Because Sequoyah County has approximately 40,000, it’s required to have that. That’s one of the reasons why we’re looking at the rezoning,” Black said.

“Two months ago, because of the growth that we’ve experienced and that we are short on office space, we decided to buy another office [in Sallisaw]. We have since done that, and so we are separating our offices to be child and adult. So the one off Highway 59 will now be children, once we refurbish and remodel the building that we just purchased. Nevertheless, we still want the zoning off Highway 59 if we ever so chose to do a crisis center for children out there on that property.”

Keith Miller, building development director for the city and who is an exofficio member of the planning commission, told the commissioners “we have no long-range plan for any of that area to be designated commercial,” and said the planning commission had previously denied a rezoning request.

One of the primary points of contention at last week’s planning commission meeting was that the facility would be located in a residential neighborhood. But Black countered by explaining to the commissioners that the Spring Creek Recovery Center in Sapulpa is located in a residential neighborhood, and that “it’s been there for 10 years, had no incidents and it’s been great and we’ve helped a lot of people.” He said that currently, anyone in Sequoyah County needing crisis intervention or treatment is transported to the Sapulpa facility.

“The reason why the state wanted to expand crisis centers statewide was because of access, so they wanted people to be treated more in their hometown, their home community.” So a facility in Sequoyah County is “primarily for around this area.”

Black apologized to the commissioners for any inaccurate or misleading information that may have been presented at the planning commission meeting, and that treatment at the proposed crisis center is intended for “children between the ages of 11 or 12 to 17.” Information the planning commission received and that was presented at the public hearing by Brian Ormsby, senior director of crisis services for CREOKS, was understood to be for adults and those in police custody.

“There’s not any inmates that would be in this facility, whether it be kids or adults,” Black assured the commissioners. “One of the things with this type of facility is that an individual cannot have charges pending against them. For us, the facility I’m talking about, this is for people who are suicidal, that decompensated to where they’re not safe to themselves, on their own independently. We get them back to being competent, whether that’s through therapy, medication, injections, all of those type of things for treatment. Those individuals are people who are your neighbors or family or loved ones in this area that need that help.”

Martens pointed out that nothing was previously stipulated that the facility would be only for children, and asked when the change from adults to children occurred.

Black explained that he did not present at the planning commission meeting, that it was Ormsby, and reiterated that “for that facility, it’s going to be children, if we go forward with it.” He then told the commissioners, “We are going to be doing an adult center here in Sallisaw, but not in that location. The original plan was for it to be adults off Highway 59. But because of the space issues [that changed].”

When asked specifically by Martens if the plans changed since last week, Black maintained that the decision “changed like in December. We actually purchased the secondary facility before it ever went before the planning commission.”

Commissioner Julian Mendiola made a motion to deny the rezoning request, which was seconded by Commissioner Josh Bailey. The motion passed unanimously.