MAT Clinic & SOS

MAT CLINIC

Pictures of the New MAT Clinic Construction

-- Photos by Lowell Rathbun 1-12-2021

In spite of a MAT Clinic appeal that was filed in Superior Court, the Jamestown Tribe appears to be very confident of the success of the MAT Clinic project. Ground has been broken for the new Jamestown Tribe MAT clinic and construction appears to be proceeding rapidly. The following pictures show the current entrance, the construction office, what appears to be the new parking lot and other scenes. This photographer was surprised by how large the site is, judging from all the fencing surrounding the area. The entire site has been carefully fenced to keep intruders out. Permission to enter must be obtained at the construction office. This will be a large construction project. There was no evidence of any protesters at the scene, and in fact, appeared to be deserted, except for construction personnel.

Large dump truck parked in the entrance.

Shot of the construction office across the street from the site.

Shot of a large shallow excavation which appears to become the parking lot.

Construction equipment near the entrance.

Picture of the site taken from the east side near Hammond Street.

General shot giving an idea of how large the area is.

MAT Clinic Story: Part 3
The Final Decision

-- Written by Lowell Rathbun 12-27-2020

Hearing Examiner Phil Obrechts -- Screenshot by Sequim Gazette.com

The MAT Clinic Final Decision

Executive Summary

On December 18, 2020, Phil Olbrechts, the city-appointed hearing examiner, handed down his decision on the sole remaining MAT clinic appeal, filed by the Jamestown Tribe earlier this year. The 39-page document presented Mr. Olbrechts’ findings of fact and his reasoning behind his decision. Mr. Olbrechts then presented his “Conclusions of Law”, which is quite legal and hard for the lay person to understand. And then he presents his decision in the last two pages of the document.

In the opinion of this writer, there are several notable aspects of his decision. First, Mr. Olbrechts makes no mention of Jodi Wilke, not even mentioning her name in the entire document even though Ms. Wilkes was the second “expert witness” and testified for most of the second day of the hearings. The second notable feature is great amount of credibility given to the research materials provided by MAT clinic opponent, Wendy Goldberg, as well the amount of attention he devotes to the concerns of the MAT clinic opponents. And finally, it is notable that the final decision that he hands down is pretty much in line with what both the tribe and the city were asking for with a few seemingly minor changes.

Background

First a little background: When the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe first applied for a permit to build the clinic, back in January 2020, they were aware of the public outcry against the clinic and the intense opposition that it had aroused. To allay some of the public concerns, the tribe attached a “Community Response Plan”. After talking about the features of the proposed clinic, the tribe outlined a “Community Response Plan”. Read it here: https://www.sequimwa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/15215/Community-Response-Plan-Jan-13-4842-8261-9569_2 . Basically, they presented a property security plan which includes security cameras, guards, no loitering rules, as well as a patient conduct agreement. Next the tribe presented a community outreach plan which includes an annual public meeting and a social “navigator”, a trained person who would direct patients and other members of the public to resources where they can obtain drug treatment, medical care and shelter. Finally, their response plan included a community response audit, which basically consisted of a monthly/quarterly review committee and exploring a Community Advisory Committee. This Community Response Plan formed the background of what became the formal “Mitigated Determination of Nonsignificance” (MDNS) which was later amended into the amended MDNS, also known as the “stipulated agreement”.

The MDNS is a complex and detailed document mostly concerned with the environment impact of the proposed clinic. Read it here: https://www.sequimwa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/16636/Tribe-stipulated-settlement . The final version of this document, the “stipulated agreement” was reached by the tribe and the city prior to the Land Use Hearings, boiled down to the following details:

1.Advisory Committee: Prior to occupancy (after construction), a “Community Advisory Committee” would be set up by the tribe and city. It would have 8 members: the tribe’s Director of Health Services (currently Brent Simcosky); the Sequim city manager (currently Charlie Bush); the Sequim Director of Community Development (currently Barry Berezowsky); the Clallam County Sheriff (currently Bill Benedict); the Sequim police chief (currently Sheri Crain); a tribal council member; a member of the Sequim city council; and a member of the health field with experience in treating Opioid Use Disorder. This committee would create a “Contingency Plan” for dealing with problems that might arise during clinic operation.
2.Post Bond: The tribe would purchase a $250,000 bond on the commercial market, assuming it is available, which would be used to pay for costs that might result from problems created by the clinic.
3.Navigator: Prior to occupancy, the tribe would hire a Social Services Navigator, basically a trained professional to guide patients or other members of the public who need opioid disorder treatment or mental health treatment to needed services to the tune of a maximum of $100K per year.
4.Notify navigator: The clinic will notify the Navigator if a patient drops out of the program.
5.Transportation: The tribe will provide transportation to and more importantly, FROM the clinic for those patients who need transportation.
6.Don’t invoke sovereign immunity: The tribe will notify the city if they are going to place the land where the clinic is located into Tribal Trust Land, theoretically at least, then freeing the clinic from city oversight.
7.Screen Patients: All patients will be pre-screened for treatment.
8.Nobody Outside: Nobody waits outside; nobody is allowed to loiter around the premises and there will be full-time security.
9.Neighbors: The neighbors (within 300 feet of the clinic) will be notified before the clinic opens.
10.No Graffiti: Graffiti will be removed.
11.No camping: No camping or overnight stays on the property
12.Fence: And build a fence between the property and the Shaw family farm.

Of these details, the items that generated the most controversy were the makeup of the Community Advisory Committee and the agreement over placing the land into the Tribal Trust (the doctrine of “sovereign immunity”. SOS wanted one of their members to be on the Community Advisory Committee. They also demanded that the tribe never invoke “sovereign immunity” over the clinic.

Mr. Olbrechts’ Reasoning

In his decision, Mr. Olbrechts concluded the following.

No probable adverse impacts: The clinic proposal will not create any probable significant adverse impacts to Sequim police services.
Mitigation is still necessary: Mr. Berezowsky’s testimony during the hearings did not do away with his original contention that the clinic would create “probable significant adverse environmental impacts that necessitate mitigation”. In other words, the original proposal had adverse impacts that needed to be mitigated. Otherwise, Mr. Olbrechts pretty much accepted Mr. Berezowsky’s testimony as is. He found that many of Mr. Berezowsky’s changes to the original plan agreed to by the city and the tribe were OK.
Police impacts are not "remote or speculative": “Police impacts (by MAT Clinics) are not remote or speculative”. Mr. Olbrechts accepted a lot of Wendy Goldberg’s submitted materials arguing that MAT clinics can cause significant impacts in crime and become community nuisances, with things like attracting drug abusers from out of the area, overnight camping, loitering, drug sales, property crimes and harassment of local businesses and citizens. Some of Ms. Goldberg’s sources included stories about Shoreline, WA, Baltimore, MD, Phoenix, AZ; New York, NY; an excerpt from a book called “Welcome to Methadonia” by Rachel Green Baldino, Boston, MA; and Seattle. Mr. Olbrechts, while acknowledging the negative information in the Goldberg data, concluded that her research was not a rigorous sociological study.
Negligible Impact on Police Services: Sequim police chief Sheri Crain made her case that the proposed MAT clinic will have negligible impact on police services. He acknowledged Chief Crain’s personal research into 6 different Washington cities, including the opioid clinic currently being operated by the tribe at the Jamestown clinic here in Sequim. She also researched 5 other cities including the MAT clinic in Anacortes, as well as interviewing the police chiefs of Kelso, Hoquiam, Arlington and East Wenatchee.
Non-violent crime possible: While no violent crime is likely, there is the distinct possibility that the proposed clinic would result in an increase in non-violent crime. According to Mr. Olbrechts, there is a minority of MAT clinic patients that will cause “police activity”, as well as a known percentage of dropouts, some of whom might be attracted to move out of the rainier parts of the Olympic Peninsula into the “rain-shadow” of Sequim to pursue their opioid drug habits here. And therefore, mitigation measures are necessary. And therefore, the clinic will need an enforceable monitoring plan, which presumably would be known as the “Contingency Plan” generated by the “Community Advisory Committee”.
Conclusions of Law -- There is language here that is understandable almost exclusively by members of the legal profession and not really very relevant to lay people like myself.

The Decision
On the last two pages of his document, Mr. Olbrechts presented his decision:

Community Advisory Committee: Go with the “Community Advisory Committee” as proposed, but it could have more than 8 members, including a Sequim resident approved by the other committee members.
Contingency Plan: The committee needs to come up with a “Contingency Plan” with 4 conditions set forth in his decision.
Post Bond: The bond to be posted by the tribe can be used to pay for “studies or corrective action” if desired.
No loitering: No loitering outside or off-property

As stated before, it appears that the decision pretty much accepts the agreement that the city and tribe has previously reached with the minor changes noted above.

If there is another chapter in the litigation process, it will be in appeals to the Superior Court in PA under the rules of the Land Use Petition Act (LUPA). Any appeal needs to be filed with 21 days of Mr. Olbrechts’ decision, or most likely by January 8 of 2021. In the absence of appeals, it appears that the next step will be actual MAT Clinic ground-breaking, presumably sometime this coming spring.

References About the MAT Clinic and the Appeals

May 8, 2019 – State of Washington approves funds for behavioral health facility
June 5, 2019 – Jamestown S’Klallam tribe announces plan to build a MAT clinic
July 8, 2019 – Community members protest the MAT clinic at city council meeting
August 8, 2019 -- MAT Clinic Public hearing in Guy Cole Center in Carrie Blake Park draws 1300 people
September 18, 2019 – Local businesses take sides in MAT Clinic dispute
October 29, 2019 – 3 GOP candidates opposed to the MAT clinic run unopposed for city council seats
December 11, 2019: the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe reveal their plans for the clinic
January 15, 2020 – Tribe files 2 applications to build the MAT clinic with city of Sequim
January, 2020 -- City takes up application and sets a public hearing.
January 29, 2020 – Barry Berezowski declares the application is an “A-2” type, touching off controversy in city council
April 2020 – City of Sequim holds a public comment period on the clinic application
May 15, 2020 -- Barry approves application and open application up for appeals
May 5, 2020 – A lawsuit is filed in Superior Court by SOS and Parkwood Manufactured Homes
June 24, 2020 – Judge Basden rejects the injunction filed against the MAT clinic
July 17, 2020 – Judge Basden dismisses the lawsuit against MAT clinic and sends it back to the city of Sequim to present to hearing examiner
August 21, 2020 – Judge Basden rejects motion to recover court costs
August 2020 – City sends application to Hearing examinier Phil Olbrechts with 6 appeals
September 21, 2020 – Phil Olbrechts rules that he doesn’t have proper jurisdiction and sends application back to city
September 26, 2020 – City council votes to amend the city ordinance so that it doesn’t have to make a land-use ruling
October 8, 2020 – Phil Olbrechts rules that SOS, Parkwood and Bob Bilow don’t have legal standing in the MAT Clinic appeal
November 16 – 24, 2020 – Phil Olbrechts hears public testimony on sole remaining MAT clinic appeal, filed by the tribe.
December 18, 2020 – Hearing Examiner Phil Olbrechts hands down final decision

Key people & groups involved:

Jamestown S’Klallam tribe – applied for a building permit to build the MAT drug treatment clinic in Sequim near Costco
Ron Allen – Tribal Leader of the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe
Brent Simcowsky – Health Services Director of the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe
Andy Murphy – lawyer for the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe
“Save Our Sequim” (SOS) – a public advocacy group which was organized to oppose the construction of the MAT clinic.
Jodi Wilke – chairperson of SOS
Michael Spence – attorney for the SOS
Jon Gibson – owner of Parkwood Manufactured Housing Community
Michael McLaughlin – attorney for Jon Gibson and the Parkwood Manufactured Housing Community
Robert Bilow – Retired attorney associated with SOS
Barry Berezowsky – the Sequim Community Development Director, on city staff, who handled the application(s) and made key decisions on how to handle the MAT clinic application;
Charlie Bush -- the Sequim city manager, whom Barry reports to;
Kristina Nelson-Gross -- Sequim city attorney who represents the city of Sequim in the legal proceedings
Judge Brent Basden – Clallam County Superior Court judge who has heard, presided and ruled on an appeal of the MAT Clinic application.
Phil Olbrechts – hearing examiner hired by the city of Sequim to hear appeals to the MAT clinic application.
Wendy Goldberg – expert witness opposing the MAT Clinic: submitted evidence, but declined to testify as an expert witness
John Staeger – expert witness moderately opposed to the MAT Clinic; testified briefly as expert witness

Links to key documents and video:

The original MAT clinic application and related documents (see File No. CDR20-001) -- https://www.sequimwa.gov/471/Current-Projects
MAT Clinic Building Permit documents: full of information about facility layout and construction plans -- https://www.sequimwa.gov/471/Current-Projects
Determination of Procedure Type: Barry Berezowsky’s explanation for how the MAT Clinic Building Permit would be handled: namely “A-2” -- https://www.sequimwa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/15134/Notice-of-Determination-of-Procedure-Type
SOS Appeal to the Hearing Examiner of Barry’s procedure determination. There are 3 other appeals, but this contains of the key arguments of the MAT Clinic opponents -- https://www.sequimwa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/16570/SOS-appeals-combined-for-webpage
City’s Motion to Dismiss the Appeals filed by city attorney Kristina Nelson-Gross. A key response filed by the city in which Ms. Nelson-Gross argued that three of the appellants lacked legal standing to file an appeal. -- https://www.sequimwa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/16572/Mot-to-Dismiss-Appeals_FINAL
Interlocutory Order issued by Hearing Examiner Phil Olbrechts, dismissing the SOS, Parkwood and Bilow appeals and agreeing to her the Jamestown Tribe’s appeal -- https://www.sequimwa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/16813/Final-Decision-II
Expert Testimony offered by Wendy Goldberg, in opposition to the MAT Clinic. This testimony influenced Mr. Olbrecht’s thinking and his decision. -- https://www.sequimwa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/17066/Goldberg--Expert-Witness-testimony
The Final Decision regarding the MAT Clinic appeals handed down by Hearing Examiner Phil Olbrechts on December 18, 2020. For the brave reader, the Findings of Fact and Final Decision sections are the most enlightening. -- https://www.sequimwa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/17229/MAT-Final-Decision
City ‘s web page containing all of the relevant documents concerning all of the MAT Clinic Appeals as well as links to watch the YouTube video of the hearing itself. -- https://www.sequimwa.gov/964/MAT-Clinic-Appeals

Video and Audio files of the MAT APPEAL HEARING: The audio files are very large and will take significant time to download. Please note that there is more than 24 hours of video to watch in the links below. Video #1 on November 18 features Jodi Wilke’s testimony.

November 16, 2020 - Audio files #1 and #2 and Video files #1 and #2 (Link to City YouTube channel)
November 17, 2020 - Audio file and Video file (Link to City YouTube channel)
November 18, 2020 - Audio file #1 and #2 and Video file #1 and #2 (Link to City YouTube channel)
November 19, 2020 - Audio file and Video file (Link to City YouTube channel)
November 24, 2020- Audio files #1 and #2 and Video files #1 and #2 (Link to City YouTube channel)

MAT Clinic Story: Part 2
The Appeals

-- Written by Lowell Rathbun 12-17-2020

The First Written Decision

On October 8, Phil Olbrechts, the hearing examiner, issued a written order dismissing 5 of 6 appeals submitted by three opponents of the MAT Clinic: Save Our Sequim, Bob Bilow, a retired attorney living just outside of Sequim and Jon Gibson, owner of the Parkwood Manufactured Housing Community. Olbrechts agreed with city attorney Kristina Nelson-Gross argument that these three appellants “lacked standing”. What this phrase means is that the three appellants could not show how the Healing clinic would result in any specific “special” injury that would happen to them or their property. Furthermore, Olbrechts went on anyway and dealt with some of the arguments submitted by these appellants, alleging that many of these arguments were not valid either.

This cleared the way for Mr. Olbrechts to deal with the remaining appeal, submitted by Jamestown S’Klallam tribe appeal of the city’s “Mitigated Determination of Nonsignificance (MDNS) State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) review. The tribe objected to some of the conditions that the city had imposed in the review. Read the article in the Sequim Gazette about this decision here: https://www.sequimgazette.com/news/hearing-examiner-dismisses-five-of-six-mat-appeals/. This set the stage for hearings that took place virtually on five days between November 16 through November 24.

Chronology of the November Hearing

The remaining MAT Clinic appeal was heard by Phil Olbrechts, the appointed hearing examiner, in a period of five days, not counting the days off, stretching from November 16 through November 24. This MAT Clinic hearing consisted in calling and hearing testimony from seven “expert” witnesses. In this quasi-judicial process, each witness was called and appeared under oath. Each witness then presented his/her testimony, some of them with assistance from their attorney, and then this witness was subjected to cross examination by the other attorneys present. These witnesses were, in order, Barry Berezowsky, the Sequim Community Development Director; Brent Simcosky, the Director of Medical Services for the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe, Jodi Wilke, chairperson of the Save Our Sequim organization (SOS); Sequim police chief Sheri Crain; Wendy Goldberg, private citizen, who, apparently unwilling to undergo cross examination, subsequently withdrew as an expert witness; Bill Staeger, also a private citizen. The last witness to be called was Dr. Paul Cunningham, the Chief Medical Officer at the Jamestown Tribal Clinic, located in Sequim.

Barry Berezowsky – Mr. Berezowsky was the first witness called. During his 5 hour appearance, he discussed the city’s Mitigated Determination of Nonsignificance (MDNS) and the changes that he made to it after negotiating with the Jamestown tribe. He also defended his choices for imposing his original conditions as well the changes he made to the revised MDNS. The specific details are discussed below. His testimony held up pretty well under cross examination. The most aggressive cross exam came from Andy Murphy although SOS attorney Michael Spence managed to score a point or two. During his appearance, Berezowsky testified that that he had imposed more onerous conditions on the MAT clinic than he would for any other medical clinic, out of concern for the public opposition and because the Tribe had freely offered some of these conditions of their own accord in order to show the tribe’s good faith intentions toward the community.

Brent Simcosky – The next expert witness called was Brent Simcosky, the Health Director for the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe. Testifying in his office at the Jamestown clinic in Sequim, Simcosky described the MAT treatment process in detail, including patient intake procedures, as well as the intense federal and state regulation of opioid treatment. Simcosky revealed that the Jamestown clinic already delivers opioid treatment to more than 120 patients and pointed out the lack any addiction-related crime around the facility. Simcosky emphasized the high quality of care that would be delivered at the MAT clinic, the tribe’s good faith intentions regarding the new clinic as well as pointing out all the medical care that the tribe delivers to more than 18,000 patients in the area, many of them non-native. Mr. Simcosky was a strong witness and held up well under cross examination, especially by Michael Spence.

Jodi Wilke – Jodi Wilke’s testimony is probably the highlight of the entire hearing. Mr. Olbrechts called her to the stand as an expert witness on behalf of SOS early on the 2nd day as a courtesy due to her working schedule. Her initial 45 minutes turned into a 6-hour ordeal. Her testimony pretty much covered all of SOS’s main talking points, using mostly generalized Internet-derived sources as support. She appeared to be poorly prepared, not in command of her sources and struggled with the Zoom technology. Under cross examination, especially by Andy Murphy, the tribe’s lawyer, things began to go badly. She was unable to produce specific, rather than generalized evidence to support her claims that the proposed MAT was in the wrong place. Under sustained cross examination by Mr. Murphy, Wilke began to give evasive answers, answered some questions with rhetorical questions and began to get hostile to her questioner. She also struggled badly under cross examination by Kristina Nelson-Gross. On many occasions, Wilke appeared to not understand the question being asked her, as well as appearing to not understand the necessity to cite specific information rather than generalizations.

Chief Crain – The next witness, Sequim police chief Sheri Crain was another strong witness. The core of her presentation is that she performed due diligence in researching 5 other similar cities in the Puget Sound area to determine if these cities, which resemble Sequim in size, had problems with the opioid treatment facilities built in their areas. Chief Crain contacted the police chiefs of these 5 cities and they reported no significant increase in crime. She also visited the Anacortes clinic and investigated the surrounding area. Chief Crain said that the city's police records did not indicate any noticeable increase in local crime since the Jamestown clinic started serving over 120 opioid patients starting in 2017. Crain was confident that the new MAT clinic would present little or no crime problems to Sequim and she had no concerns.

Mr. Olbrechts then proceeded to consider two other expert witnesses: Wendy Goldberg and Bill Staeger, both private citizens. Ms. Goldberg, who opposed the clinic, had submitted a list of documents to the hearing examiner and originally agreed to testify. She later appeared reluctant to undergo cross examination and withdrew her intention to be an expert witness. Mr. Olbrechts left her documents in evidence and allowed her to make a 3-minute public comment instead. Bill Staeger, who also opposed the clinic, did testify and was critical of the MDNS changes, especially the removal of the Community Response Plan and limitations on membership of the Community Review Committee. Under cross examination, Mr. Staeger ended up concurring with many of the details in the revised MDNS.

Dr. Paul Cunningham – Perhaps the strongest witness called was the tribe’s rebuttal witness, Dr. Paul Cunningham, Chief Medical Officer at the Jamestown clinic. He described in detail the nature of the present treatment program at the Jamestown clinic and emphasized that the new MAT clinic will “up the treatment game”. He provided more details about the state-of-the-art nature of the MAT treatment and its benefits to the community. Dr. Cunningham appeared to easily handle the cross examination by Michael Spence, SOS attorney and gave him no ground.

Public Comment: Phil Olbrechts then moved on to the public comment period and read some public comments and questions that had come in during the hearing. Most of the public input were generalized comments either for or against the new clinic. It should be noted that for each expert witness that had appeared, after the attorneys had finished their cross examinations, Olbrechts allowed the public to submit their questions on-line or by telephone, for the expert witness. Most of these “questions” turned out to be generalized comments also. After all that testimony, Mr. Olbrechts moved on quickly to the Closing Arguments.

The Issues Between the Tribe and the City

Part of the documentation included the tribe’s application to build the clinic is a document called the “Mitigated Determination of Nonsignificance (MDNS) in the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). In short, this document addresses probable impacts that the clinic may have on the surrounding environment, which includes the usual stuff like water, air, wildlife, drainage, etc. But environmental impact also includes impacts to traffic and “public services”, such as police services, etc. This was the opening for opponents of the MAT clinic to offer their objections.

By his own testimony, in response to community concern, the Director of Community Development, Barry Berezowsky imposed certain conditions on the tribe, which he would not ordinarily impose on any other medical clinic, by the city in return for approval of the project. Things get a little involved here: First there is the matter of the Community Advisory Committee, composed of “stakeholders”, i.e. members of city staff, law enforcement, a tribal council member, a city councilor and health care worker. The committee, after the clinic opens, would monitor and evaluate the operation of the clinic and its effect on the city. The tribe also agreed to post a $250,000 bond to cover possible damages to the city, provided an underwriter could be found. The tribe also agreed to on-site security, to provide patient transportation to and from the clinic, as well as no-loitering policy. The tribe agreed to fund a “Social Services Navigator”, basically a person to assist patients and other persons to find needed social services assistance. The tribe also agreed to comply with federal law in operating the clinic, and as Brent Simcosky pointed out, would not assert “sovereign immunity” over the clinic sometime in the future.

During their negotiation with the city, apparently in the period between October 8 and November 16, the city and the tribe agreed to strike certain requirements from the MDNS document. One of these was to remove the “Community Response Plan”. Berezowsky testified that most of the elements in the proposed Community Response Plan were already covered in provisions in the existing MDNS document. Also dropped was the “Good Neighbor Agreement” for the same reason.

The resulting revised MDNS forms the basis of a “stipulated settlement” between the tribe and the city which satisfies the tribe’s requests stated in their appeal, as well as satisfying the city’s requirements for minimal impacts to the physical environment, public services and public safety. Both the tribe and city appear to have arrived at a mutually acceptable agreement before they arrived at the hearing. The chief objections to stipulated settlement came from the opponents of the clinic – SOS, Ms. Goldberg and somewhat from Mr. Staeger.

Dealing with Public Opposition

The real star of the MAT Clinic appeal hearing was the public opposition to the clinic and not the appeal itself, which appeared to have been mostly already settled. Most of the witnesses and testimony heard during the lengthy 24+ hour hearing which took place over 5 days, were centered around public concern about the clinic.

Phil Olbrechts made the somewhat unusual decision to allow Michael Spence, the attorney for SOS, whose appeal had already been dismissed, the opportunity to cross examine witnesses during the entire hearing. After closing arguments, Mr. Olbrechts offered the following rationale: Since there was a great deal of community concern, he wanted to make sure that the stipulated agreement was exposed to the “fire of community concern” through Mr. Spence’s cross examinations. Olbrechts seemed to go to great lengths to demonstrate that he was taking community concerns into account in his forthcoming decision, but he emphasized that his decision would be detailed, impartial and “follow the law”.

While the SOS and opponents’ arguments are hard to nail down, they seem to go something like this: “The chosen site for this MAT clinic is the wrong place. Treating opioid patients at that location will pose a significant danger to the public, ruin the good character of Sequim and damage property values.” Their argument continues: “No opioid treatment is 100% effective, and in fact, 50% of the patients will drop out and relapse into opioid abuse. They will either loiter in the area, or be induced to move into the Sequim, expecting free methadone doses, and setting up homeless encampments in the area. Existing patients or drop-outs, loitering in the area, would endanger their neighbors, through burglary or assault; they would discard syringes and deposit feces in the area; and set up unsightly and dangerous tent encampments.” Furthermore, they argue that “patients will be brought into the clinic from out of the area; many of those patients would drop out, move into Sequim to pursue their drug habits here, thus setting up a vicious cycle.” MAT opponents also argued that the tribe intended to construct an in-patient facility and house opioid patients at the clinic as a part of this project. They also argued that the tribe was not acting in good faith, would claim “tribal sovereignty”, were profit-driven and had no concern for the well-being of the community. Their arguments appear to be speculative, supported almost entirely by generalized and/or anecdotal arguments and data, mostly taken from the Internet.

Most of these arguments appeared to be demolished by expert witness testimony and many of the opponents’ sources were discredited during the hearing. Brent Simcosky, the Jamestown Tribal Medical Director, testified to the high quality of the care that they are already providing to more than 120 opioid patients at their existing Jamestown Medical Clinic on north 5th street. He maintained that the intended MAT treatment is the “gold standard” for treating opioid conditions and claimed a retention rate of over 70% for their existing patients. Simcosky pointed out that their clinic and the care that their opioid patients receive is highly regulated and monitored by both federal and state agencies, including the Washington Department of Health (DOH). Patients are self-referred and must go through a thorough intake exam process, thus maximizing chances of success. Simcosky also testified that their providers are constantly in touch with their patients and monitoring their recovery all the way through the process.

Both Simcosky and Dr. Cunningham reiterated that patients transported into the new clinic would be returned to their place of origin after the day’s treatment. Under cross examination, both Simcosky and Dr. Cunningham admitted that the clinic is not responsible for the whereabouts of patients who transport themselves to the clinic and complete their appointments. Bolstered by Simcosky and Dr. Cunningham’s testimonies, Sequim police chief Sheri Crain pointed out that her department has not observed any noticeable increase in crime in or around the Jamestown clinic since it began opioid treatment in 2017. No loitering, or discarded needles, or assaults have been observed around the Jamestown clinic.

Dr. Cunningham further argued that it is unreasonable to expect that all “drop-outs” from the treatment program would regress and resume criminal behavior. Patients might move out of the area, or complete treatment or enter abstinence-only recovery. Dr. Cunningham was unaware that any of his patients who lived outside the area had moved into Sequim for express purpose of pursuing their drug habit there.

Both Simcosky and Dr. Cunningham pushed back vigorously on allegations that the Jamestown Tribe was acting in bad faith. They called attention to their Jamestown Medical Clinic on North 5th Avenue which treats over 18,000 patients, many of whom are non-native. They also mentioned the tribe’s businesses located in the area that bring employment and tax revenue to the city. They also pointed out repeatedly that the tribe has living in the Sequim area for over 1000 years and they were not about to ruin the area they live in.

Closing Arguments

Mr. Spence started off the closing arguments. He argued that the tribe and the city had not proved their case that the proposed clinic would be safe. He argued that Sequim was not the right place to locate the clinic and cited as proof, the evidence submitted by the opposition earlier.

In her closing argument, most notably, Ms. Nelson-Gross stated that the last remaining appeal has already been settled in negotiations prior to the hearing and requested that Mr. Olbrechts accept the stipulated settlement in his forthcoming decision. Ms. Gross also reiterated that the opposition had not made their case. This implies that there may be little or no change to the present MDNS in the forthcoming decision.

The tribe’s attorney, Mr. Murphy went last. He emphasized that the opposition to the clinic had not made their case. He took occasion to point out deficiencies in the evidence supplied by Wendy Goldberg. In closing, he summarized that the tribe had “gone the extra mile” and had acted in good faith, and requested that Mr. Olbrechts accept the stipulated settlement. In his closing statement, Mr. Olbrechts offered that his special treatment of Mr. Spence and the public was his effort to have the arguments of the opposition be subjected to a fair and rigorous rational review, complementing the “emotional” review that was presented in July of 2019 in the Guy Cole Center. He pledged to take the interests of all parties into account and render an impartial decision based on the law.

It is not unreasonable to expect the Mr. Olbrechts’ decision on Friday will grant almost everything that the tribe and the city are currently asking for, thus settling their differences and clearing the way for construction to begin, barring more appeals. It is expected that any new appeal will be taken to the Superior Court in Port Angeles.

Sources:

The following is an incomplete list of newspaper articles carried in Sequim Gazette that appeared after I published the first story about the MAT Clinic:

9_30_20: https://www.sequimgazette.com/letters/letters-to-the-editor-sept-30-2020/
10_7_20: https://www.sequimgazette.com/news/mayor-queries-city-staff-on-mat-clinic-transportation-concern/
10_14_20: https://www.sequimgazette.com/news/hearing-examiner-dismisses-five-of-six-mat-appeals/
11_12_20: https://www.sequimgazette.com/news/mat-clinic-hearing-to-begin-nov-16/
11_18_20: https://www.sequimgazette.com/news/mat-hearing-continues-wednesday/
12_2_20: https://www.sequimgazette.com/news/sequim-councilors-push-adus-land-use-appeal-talks-to-january/
12_2_20: https://www.sequimgazette.com/news/hearing-examiner-to-issue-decision-by-dec-18-on-mat-clinic/

The following is a link to the City of Sequim web site, containing descriptions and links to a great many documents, audios and videos pertaining to the entire MAT clinic application, appeals and hearing.
https://www.sequimwa.gov/964/MAT-Clinic-Appeals

The documentation cited on this page is lengthy, involved, much of it is of a legal nature and may be confusing to the lay person. This author directs the determined reader to the MAT Appeal Hearing video files. These video files are Zoom recordings of the entire hearing that were put into the City of Sequim YouTube site. There are over 24 total hours of video to watch. This author recommends the Video file #1 on November 18 as the best one to watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuKBgLaxiqM&feature=youtu.be This is the recording of Jodi Wilke’s testimony.

The Sequim MAT Clinic Story
(First of Two Parts)

By Lowell Rathbun 12-3-2020

The Sequim MAT Clinic Story

While the story of the Sequim MAT Clinic has been drawn out and seems complex, it is possible for the layperson to make sense of the whole story. The following is a summarized account of the history of the Sequim MAT clinic application. This account takes the MAT clinic story up to late September of 2020, where the MAT clinic application is waiting for a hearing in front of the hearing examiner, Phil Olbrechts. There will be a second installment of this story which will continue the timeline of the story to the present day and examine what went on in the hearings before the hearing examiner in mid-November.

The Beginning

The story of the MAT clinic begins in early May of 2019. In early May, the Democratically controlled legislature of Washington state approved $7.2 million to build a behavior health facility in the north Olympic Peninsula. The fund request was sponsored by the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe, the Olympic Medical Center in PA and the Jefferson Healthcare Medical Center in Port Townsend. There is a perceived need to build a health campus to address an unmet an ongoing chemical dependency crisis in the Olympic Peninsula. About a month later, in early June, Ron Allen, the leader of the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe announced a two phase plan to build an opioid treatment facility on land that the tribe was purchasing in Sequim, just across the street and southeast of the Costco store.

Layout of the planned Sequim MAT Clinic taken from the application on file with the city. Note that the Costco store is just to the upper left, "kitty corner" to the intersection of 9th Avenue and Hammond Street.

The Opposition Begins

The plans to build this facility did not escape the notice of a number people in the Sequim area and the opposition began. In early July, a city council meeting was jammed with protesters and opponents of the MAT clinic, who called themselves “Sequim Against MAT”. They used the occasion to forcefully make their opposition to the proposed clinic known to the city council and city staff. Shortly thereafter, the group of opponents took the name “Save Our Sequim” and formed a non-profit organization, led by Jodi Wilke, a local Republican politician who happened to live in Port Townsend at the time.

Under pressure, the city called a special public meeting to hear from the public. On August 8, 2019, that public meeting took place in the Guy Cole Center in Carrie Blake Park. An estimated crowd of 1300 people showed up, overwhelming the Center, and forcing standing room only, with people seated outside. During the estimated 4 hours, officials including Eric Lewis, CEO of the Olympic Medical Center, Stephen Klasko, CEO of the Jefferson Healthcare Medical Center, Ron Allen, CEO of the Jamestown tribe, and Bill Benedict, the county sheriff gave a presentation to the audience and then took comments alternately from both opponents and supporters of the clinic, who stood in two lines for several hours, waiting to make their statements. The emotion-filled meeting carried on until 10 pm as people began drifting away. During August and September, local business owners began to take sides in the MAT Clinic dispute, with many local businesses opposing the clinic and displaying SOS signs in their windows. One business owner who started Peninsula Nursery, supported the clinic. He eventually was forced out of business by the locals boycotting his nursery. SOS signs began to spring up in front yards all over town and in the nearby rural areas around Sequim.

Packing the City Council

The core of the organized opposition to the MAT clinic lies within the Clallam County Republican party. Jodi Wilke, the Chair of SOS is a Republican politician who unsuccessfully ran against Mike Chapman for State Representative in 2018. On February 6, 2020, the Clallam County Republican Central Committee passed a resolution opposing the MAT clinic. Sue Forde, the chairperson of the Clallam County Republicans, announced formal GOP party opposition to the MAT Clinic during the public comment period in a city council meeting shortly thereafter.

Late in 2019, Donnie Hall and Jim McEntire, according to their own testimony, apparently devised a strategy to pack the Sequim city council with MAT Clinic opponents during the upcoming election. Hall and McEntire formed an organization called the “Independent Advisory Association” (IAA) and recruited and “trained” candidates. These candidates were William Armacost, Brandon Janisse and Troy Tenneson. They also found a sympathizer in Tom Ferrell, another Republican. In the November 2019 election they succeeded in packing the city council, as their three candidates ran unopposed, won by default, and were seated on the city council in January of 2020.

Throughout 2020, the GOP has continued its council packing strategy. In April, there were two vacancies on the council following the death of Deputy Mayor Ted Miller and the resignation of Jennifer States. After the replacement process was over, on April 27, the GOP dominated city council had appointed two more Republicans to replace Miller and States: Sarah Kincaid, an officer in the GOP and Mike Pence. On October 26, the GOP continued their grip on the Sequim city council by appointing Keith Larkin, the only Republican in a slate of 6 candidates for the job, to fill the seat vacated by the resignation of Troy Tenneson.

The Strategy to Defeat the Clinic

In early 2020, the MAT Clinic application began its trip through Sequim’s approval process. In early December of 2019, the Jamestown tribe unveiled its plans for the new clinic in a packed meeting in its Jamestown Family Health Clinic in Sequim to an invitation-only audience, while dozens of people protested nearby on North 5th avenue. Then, in January of new year, the tribe formally filed the application for a building permit with the city and met with Barry Berezowsky, the director of community development.

Now things start to get a little complicated. There are several different levels of building permits allowed in the city. The simplest, used for ordinary home construction is called “A-1”. The next level up is called “A-2” which is used for larger projects such as smaller retail stores or medical clinics, etc. These building permit applications are handled entirely by city staff. The next level up is called “C-2”and is used for larger projects like building a big box store like Walmart, or a public school. This permit is handled by the city council.

While it is impossible to know what goes on in the minds of the opponents of the MAT clinic, we can deduce their motives and intended strategy from their statements and actions. Their initial intent for disposing of the MAT clinic was to get the clinic application classified at “C-2” level so that it could get voted down by the now packed city council. In addition to that, the opponents also pursued a strategy of public pressure, which resulted in packed city council chambers and often rancorous public comment against the clinic.

Their strategy apparently did not go as planned. On January 29, Barry Berezowsky declared the MAT clinic application to be in the “A-2” category, which did not require review and possible rejection by the city council. Barry backed up his opinion with law and legal precedent. This set off a firestorm of outrage and cries of foul in the SOS community, as well as allegations of corruption and conspiracy.

This development caused a shift in the opponents’ strategy. They now began to pursue a strategy of delay and a continued attempt to force the application into a higher category, “C-2”. In their efforts to force a delay, at least three appeals were filed against the A-2 decision, forcing this application to be heard by a hearing examiner. The hearing examiner is a quasi-judicial official, hired by the city to hear and resolve land use disputes. The MAT clinic opponents on the city council attempted further delay by putting off the hiring of a hearing examiner for as long as possible, until just before the date required by law. The city council eventually hired Phil Olbrechts to be that hearing examiner.

Detour Through Superior Court

On May 20, 2020, Barry Berezowsky approved the MAT clinic applications, giving the tribe permission to proceed with construction. On the very next day, apparently fearing that hearing examiner would rule against them, the opponents chose to pre-empt the hearing examiner and decided to appeal the MAT clinic application directly to the Superior Court in Port Angeles. Three parties including Bill Bilow, a retired lawyer, who lives just outside Sequim city limits; Jon Gibson, owner of the Parkwood Manufactured Home Association, located just outside city limits and , of course, the Save Our Sequim organization, filed a joint lawsuit against the Jamestown tribe and the city of Sequim in Superior Court. They sought a restraining order to stop the MAT process, including construction, immediately. In the suit, they also argued that clinic application was handled improperly by the city and should be upgraded to “C-2” status. Judge Brent Basden ruled against them twice. He first rejected the restraining order and in his second decision, said that the appeal to Superior Court was premature and remanded the application back to the Sequim city council.

Shortly after remand back to the city council, the Jamestown tribe itself filed a fourth appeal of its own MAT clinic application. In late August, the city staff formally sent the MAT clinic application, with a total of six appeals to it, over to Phil Olbrechts, the hearing examiner, for formal consideration.

Now things start to get complex. On September 21, Phil Olbrechts ruled that he did not have proper jurisdiction, because of an environmental impact review issue, along with two other issues. Because of a legally mandated deadline, city staff (Barry Berezowsky and city attorney Kristina Nelson-Gross) requested an emergency meeting of the city council, asking for an emergency or interim change in the city municipal code. The change sought was to change the appeal authority for an “A-2” application from the city council itself to the hearing examiner. Berezowsky and Nelson-Gross maintained that the city council was not qualified to conduct a quasi-judicial proceeding and would be potentially quite expensive and expose the city to extensive legal exposure. The council eventually complied with the request by adopting an interim change to the code by a 5-1 vote that following Saturday, September 26. (GOP council member Troy Tenneson had already resigned, leaving an empty seat on the council.) The next move was now up to Phil Olbrechts, the hearing examiner.

The Hearing Examination Mess

The number of legal documents being posted on the city’s web site regarding the appeal of the MAT clinic application have proliferated greatly, making it difficult for a lay person to get an idea of what is going on. But it can be sorted and simplified and goes something like this:

The strategy of the three clinic opponents (Bilow, Parkwood and SOS) appears to boil down to the following:
1.The MAT clinic application is in the wrong category: it should be a “C-2” application (so that the GOP packed city council can presumably take it up and vote it down.)
2.The MAT clinic should be classified as a “Essential Public Facility” (EPF) because there will be a 16-bed inpatient facility in the tribe’s “Phase 2” of the project. This forces the application into the “C-2” category.
3.The city council has “appellate jurisdiction” in the A-2 process. This means that the city council would have to hear appeals to “A-2” building permits. (The recent municipal code change has eliminated that possibility.)

The Jamestown tribe’s appeal comes from a different direction – they object to the city’s requirement that the tribe provide for “potential” risks to the environment as opposed to “probable” risks. The rest of the tribe’s appeals strongly supports the position of the city.

The city’s response to the combined appeals, while being lengthy due to its legal nature, I believe, boils down to this:

Bob Bilow, Parkwood, and SOS do not have “legal standing” to appeal. They cannot meet the legal requirements proving that they or their property will be harmed by the MAT clinic. They “don’t have any skin in the game”, so to speak.
The MAT clinic facility being sought is not an “Essential Public Facility”. The clinic will be an out-patient clinic, not an inpatient clinic. This application is not about “Phase Two” which includes a planned in-patient facility. This Phase Two application will be an entirely different matter to be considered later.
For reasons stated, including precedent, the MAT clinic application does not belong in the C-2 category. It has been properly classified as a A-2 application.
Some of the claims cited in the appeals ignore legal precedent and anti-discrimination laws.
And some of the appeals are unclear or absurd.

This was the situation at the end of September with the MAT clinic application and its appeals before Phil Olbrechts, awaiting his actions. The second part of this timeline and narrative will take up the issues and events involved in the land use hearings that Phil Olbrechts conducted on November 16 and 17.

Key people & groups involved:

Jamestown S’Klallam tribe – applied for a building permit to build the MAT drug treatment clinic in Sequim near Costco
Ron Allen – Tribal Leader of the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe
Brent Simcowsky – Health Services Director of the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe
Andy Murphy – lawyer for the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe
“Save Our Sequim” (SOS) – a public advocacy group which was organized to oppose the construction of the MAT clinic.
Jodi Wilke – chairperson of SOS
Michael Spence – attorney for the SOS
Jon Gibson – owner of Parkwood Manufactured Housing Community
Michael McLaughlin – attorney for Jon Gibson and the Parkwood Manufactured Housing Community
Robert Bilow – Retired attorney associated with SOS
Barry Berezowsky – the Sequim Community Development Director, on city staff, who handled the application(s) and made key decisions on how to handle the MAT clinic application;
Charlie Bush -- the Sequim city manager, whom Barry reports to;
Kristina Nelson-Gross -- Sequim city attorney who represents the city of Sequim in the legal proceedings
Judge Brent Basden – Clallam County Superior Court judge who has heard, presided and ruled on an appeal of the MAT Clinic application.
Phil Olbrechts – hearing examiner hired by the city of Sequim to hear appeals to the MAT clinic application.

Timeline of the MAT Clinic application and building permit application:

May 8, 2019 – State of Washington approves funds for behavioral health facility
June 5, 2019 – Jamestown S’Klallam tribe announces plan to build a MAT clinic
July 8, 2019 – Community members protest the MAT clinic at city council meeting
August 8, 2019 -- MAT Clinic Public hearing in Guy Cole Center in Carrie Blake Park draws 1300 people
September 18, 2019 – Local businesses take sides in MAT Clinic dispute
October 29, 2019 – 3 GOP candidates opposed to the MAT clinic run unopposed for city council seats
December 11, 2019: the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe reveal their plans for the clinic
January 15, 2020 – Tribe files 2 applications to build the MAT clinic with city of Sequim
January, 2020 -- City takes up application and sets a public hearing.
January 29, 2020 – Barry Berezowski declares the application is an “A-2” type, touching off controversy in city council
April 2020 – City of Sequim holds a public comment period on the clinic application
May 15, 2020 -- Barry approves application and open application up for appeals
May 5, 2020 – A lawsuit is filed in Superior Court by SOS and Parkwood Manufactured Homes
June 24, 2020 – Judge Basden rejects the injunction filed against the MAT clinic
July 17, 2020 – Judge Basden dismisses the lawsuit against MAT clinic and sends it back to the city of Sequim to present to the hearing examiner
August 21, 2020 – Judge Basden rejects the city and tribe's motion to recover court costs
August 2020 – City sends application to Hearing examinier Phil Olbrechts with 6 appeals
September 21, 2020 – Phil Olbrechts rules that he doesn’t have proper jurisdiction and sends application back to city
September 26, 2020 – City council votes to amend the city ordinance so that it doesn’t have to make a land-use ruling
October 8, 2020 – Phil Olbrechts rules that SOS, Parkwood and Bob Bilow don’t have legal standing in the MAT Clinic appeal
November 16, 17, 2020 – Phil Olbrechts hears public testimony on sole remaining MAT clinic appeal, filed by the tribe.

Partial List of News Articles About the MAT Clinic
(This is just a partial list, in reverse chronological order, of all the news articles that have appeared about the MAT clinic. These articles are drawn mostly from the Sequim Gazette and are intended for the serious reader who wants a more complete understanding of the MAT clinic story.)

Important Stories in the News

On June 18, the Washington Post published an important story about the MAT Clinic being built by the Jamestown S'Klallam tribe and the conflict with the Save Our Sequim (SOS) reaction to it. This story provides a good comprehensive background to the need for a clinic, the tribe's approach to it, and the SOS reaction to it. This is good reading for anyone new to this matter or who needs a good basic understanding of what's going on.

A Native American tribe plans to build an opioid treatment center, but neighbors have vowed to block it. --- by the Washington Post.

Photo credit: Washington Post June 18, 2020 Debbie Cenziper, Syd Stone & Ally Mauch

S’KLALLAM‘S “HEALING CAMPUS” ON TRACK DESPITE RACISM

By Tim Wheeler and Lisa Dekker

SEQUIM---“Klallam” refers to four indigenous Native American communities, Nəxʷsƛ̕áy̕əm̕ or S’Klallam means the Strong People. There are four bands Nəxʷsƛ̕áy̕əm̕, two of which - the Jamestown S’Klallam and the Lower Elwha Klallam - are here on the North Olympic Peninsula. Despite many challenges, both groups are an important part of what is now Clallam County. But right now the Jamestown S’Klallams are the target of a vicious attack because they stepped forward to build a ”’healing” clinic in Sequim for victims of the opioid epidemic.

Over the years the Klallam have contributed much to the region. The Lower Elwha Klallam spearheaded the successful drive to remove two dams on the Elwha River and restore salmon in that river’s headwaters. In addition, they generously share use of their beautiful Cultural Center in Port Angeles with many local non-profits.

The Jamestown S’Klallam have been key partners in restoring salmon and steelhead in the Dungeness River. In 2002, when Virginia Mason Health Care left Sequim, it was the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe that agreed to provide primary care to the community, and their clinics now serve over 17,000 residents of the area, the majority non-native. They are in fact Clallam County’s second largest employer.

But racism, injustice, and collective amnesia have a long history here. In 1855 the S’Klallam Tribe entered into the Point No Point Treaty with the United States, but because they resisted removal to the reservation at Skokomish, they were stripped of their tribal recognition. They remained in their traditional areas, and in 1874 the S’Klallams from the village at Dungeness purchased 210 acres of land, establishing Jamestown. In other words, the tribal members had to buy back land that had been theirs from time immemorial. For the next 126 years, the S’Klallams fought for, and finally re-gained, tribal recognition in 1981.

In 2003, the Lower Elwha Klallam peoples were disregarded when the Washington DOT began a multi-million dollar project in Port Angeles to construct concrete pontoons for the Hood Canal Bridge. Almost immediately, excavation unearthed what had been a Klallam village, Tse-whit-zen, and a burial ground with the remains of hundreds of adults and children. For months, the tribe endured the anguish of seeing the bones of their ancestors dug up, as they battled to stop the desecration of this sacred site. Despite the outright fury from many locals who saw only dollar signs, the Tribe prevailed, and construction ended. Bulldozing was at last replaced by careful removal and proper re-burial, but it has been difficult for the Klallam people to forget the pain and hurt they suffered.

In 2019 when the Jamestown S’Klallam announced plans to build an outpatient opioid clinic, a group calling itself “Save Our Sequim” (SOS), generated hostility against the clinic and the Tribe. Despite the fact that this MAT (Medication Assisted Treatment) Clinic was planned in collaboration with the Olympic Medical Center, Jefferson Health Care, and Peninsula Behavioral Health, and has the support of law enforcement and most elected officials, SOS accused the Tribe of “profit greed.” SOS flooded the community with yard signs proclaiming “No Regional MAT Clinic.” In addition, SOS portrayed Sequim as a sort of unblemished retirement “Mayberry,” while vilifying those struggling with addiction, the poor and the homeless.

At one point the SOS Facebook page was filled with racist comments so abusive that a Tribal leader told Sequim Mayor William Armacost that Tribal members “feel unwelcome in a town that bears a S’Klallam name.” Things came to a head when three women came before the City Council and displayed several comments from the SOS Facebook page, to show the Council and the public just how ugly the racist attacks had become. The group’s leader, Jodi Wilke has since denounced these kinds of comments, most likely because she has filed to run for the State legislature against Democratic incumbent, and clinic supporter, Steve Tharinger. And in early May, Jon Gibson, the owner of a local manufactured housing community, helped to fund both an anti-MAT ad in the Sequim Gazette, and a lawsuit against the City of Sequim to block the Healing Campus. Mr. Gibson has supported right-wing causes and is connected with the Conservative Action Project.

Because so much anger and aggression was also directed at the Sequim City Council and staff, responsible governance was under threat. In response, a group of us formed “Voices for Health & Healing” a grassroots organization to support the MAT clinic, the Tribe and the city staff, and to promote constructive solutions to health care, food insecurity, and homelessness on the Peninsula.

Despite the obstacles, the clinic application has passed many hurdles, and we hope to report that construction for this much-needed treatment center will begin soon.

SEQUIM POLICE DEPARTMENT IS READY FOR MAT CLINIC

--- September 4, 2020

Sequim Police Chief Sheri Crain -- (file photo)

Sequim police chief, Sheri Crain, feels confident that the city's police department has the capacity to deal with any difficulties that might be posed by the new MAT Clinic that is currently in the permit process. Speaking in the city sponsored radio show, "Coffee With the Mayor" held on KSQM on Thursday, August 27, Chief Crain related that she had done her own research into 10 cities of similar size to Sequim and found no difficulties. According to her, all of those clinics in those cities were well planned and well run and very few problems resulted. At this time, she feels comfortable with the planning and security arrangements the Jamestown S'Klallam tribe is putting into their MAT clinic plans. (See full transcript below.)

SEQUIM POLICE CHIEF SHERI CRAIN on MAT Clinic security.
Coffee with the Mayor
KSQM 91.5 FM
August 27, 2020

TRISH NOA: "This (questions) is for (Sequim city Police )Chief (Sheri) Crane. “I don't think that our police force has adequate resources to deal with the opening of a MAT Clinic here in Sequim. What is planned to address giving greater support to the police?"

Chief Craine: “So I think I want to talk about some of the due diligence that happened -- the discussions and the planning process that the permitting process that the tribe went through. So for me, I wanted to get answers from people who would actually have some knowledge of the issue. And so, I actually contacted over 10 cities of similar size. You know, kind of rural about clinics that have moved into their community. And what I found without exception is that they had very (few) difficulties with those clinics. Those clinics were well run and took care of their own business, how to security plan within their business. I ended up at the end of that research feeling confident that our current staffing, the agreements with the clinic …. proposal (and) how they formulated their business plan. I'm confident that we have the capacity and we have the ability to make adjustments if adjustments are needed. So at this time I feel comfortable with how the process has been working out and I was… I felt enlightened by talking with people who actually had the experience in their own communities for the last, you know, three, four (or) five years as clinics have been popping up around the country."

Open Letter to Jodi Wilke About Posts on the SOS Facebook Page

--- Written by Vicki Lowe

Jodi,

It has now been almost one full year (August 9, 2019) since you were notified, on record, about racist comments being posted on the SOS Facebook page. Each time you have been addressed, you have been adamant you don’t put up with behavior like that and it would be fixed. In September, you told several citizens who were upset about these comments, to start tagging you and admins in the posts and they would be deleted. Numerous people did this several times and the comments were not deleted. They started tagging all the admins in the posts, and they were never deleted, then these people, who did as you told them to, were removed from the SOS Facebook group. As the comments continued to heat up both on Facebook and the Nextdoor app, people would speak up and would be removed from the pages. Knowing that people were deleted from reported comments, I put my efforts into providing source documents to posts that were factually incorrect. None of these posts were removed or changed either, the incorrect thread was just picked up in another thread and I was called a “troll”.

Seeing all the awful comments about the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe and stigma around opioid use disorder (OUD), attacks on City of Sequim staff had an impact on my well-being. I felt compelled to do something about it, but also powerless to do anything. I met two other like-minded women at a city council meeting, and we decided we would be safer if we did something together. City Council Members and Matt Nash need to know this has been a year in the making. Diplomacy has not worked. At the March 9 City Council Meeting, Nicole Clarke and Shenna Younger and I shared only a small sampling of comments, this was labeled a publicity stunt and we were called liars. You claimed since we didn’t put names on the poster boards, it could have been fake people making these comments and even suggested it was us with fake profiles making it up. I stayed quiet. I didn’t believe publicly calling out community members was the right thing to do, I just wanted the behavior to stop. On the June 8th city council agenda, it appeared that they were finally going to address racism in our community. That night, city council decided to not discuss racism and kick the can down the road. A community member started a petition and in just under 10 days, it had just over 2200 signatures. You posted on SOS and were quoted in the media stating that the comments were never validated or authenticated and yet, you were sent proof of these comments. You never retracted your post. You encouraged your supporters to PLEASE REPORT the petition as FAKE and accused Shenna Younger of hijacking the tragedy of George Floyd’s death. You called her a "con", "opportunist" and "imposter. You know these comments are not true, and yet you posted them, and they remain.

I made this video to help you, Sequim City Council and the public – by way of Matt Nash of the Sequim Gazette and making this an open public letter- see that we do know the truth about the posts, the truth about the inaction by you and the SOS Board and Facebook admins. in addressing this issue that has repeatedly been brought to your attention and not resolved. It is titled, “Are the Posts Still There?”

Vick Lowe
Resident of Sequim, WA

Facts About the Sequim MAT Clinic

SOS LOSES COURT ATTEMPT TO STOP TRIBAL MAT CLINIC REVIEW PROCESS

The Save Our Sequim organization has just lost its first legal battle to stop the construction of the MAT Clinic. Read the full story, just out on myclallamcounty.com here. There is more legal action to come, however. The next stop for the MAT Clinic will be Land Use hearing in front of a Hearing Examiner who will consider the SOS appeal of the MAT Clinic application. It is likely that the losing party in that hearing will appeal the decision to Superior Court. But for now, SOS has suffered another setback in its attempt to delay or prevent the MAT Clinic from being built.

Analysis of a Letter Submitted to the City Council

The following document comprised of a letter opposing the MAT clinic was recently submitted to the Sequim City Council. The writer of the letter is not known to be a member of SOS, but the language in the letter is typical of the language used by the SOS organization and its supporters. This letter was chosen to illustrate the typical manner in which SOS communicates with the public. While the letter itself appears to be reasonable, closer examination shows the destructive irrational nature of this communication. This letter contains fair amount of speculation (unproven and or unverifiable claims), hearsay, fear mongering and character assassination (accusing people of unproven dishonorable motives). The combination of speculation and character assassination is sometimes called "conspiracy theories".

This type of destructive communication results in the spreading of misinformation or outright lies, as well as causing suspicion, mistrust and polarization in the community as people are led to depersonalize other human beings, and suspect them of hostile and dishonest intentions. This type of communication confuses the shared conception of reality and corrodes the public trust that is needed for the well-being of our democracy. This type of communication is uncivil and irrational and should have no place in our public discourse.

The original letter text is shown in black text. The City's response to the letter is shown in the red text. The destructive text in the original letter is highlighted in yellow. The explanation of the destructive text is highlighted in blue italicized text, which is not part of the original letter.

Local SOS Member Charged with Felony for selling Scam Covid-19 Cure

Richard Marschall, 67, husband of Rose Marschall, the executive secretary of the Save Our Sequim organization, was charged with a felony on April 30 for selling a scam cure for the Covid-19 virus. He called his false cure the “Dynamic Duo”. Marschall is scheduled to make his first appearance via teleconference in U.S. District Court on May 12, 2020 on a charge of Introduction of Misbranded Drugs into Interstate Commerce. Due to prior convictions, Marschall faces increased penalties, including 3 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. (See more here.)

Answering Some Questions

Written by Lowell Rathbun

On Sunday, May 17, a pro-SOS ad, paid for the park manager at the Parkwood Manufactured Housing Community in Sequim, was published in the Peninsula Daily News by the park manager at the Parkwood Community in Sequim. Because the city of Sequim just approved the MAT application a week ago and the Parkwood organization just filed suit as a co-plaintiff, I feel that this ad deserves a response.

This ad, at first glance, sounds reasonable and the questions would invite consideration. A closer examination reveals that this ad is little more than propaganda and need not be taken seriously. Several questions make false, misleading or unsupported claims. Two of the questions exhibit emotion-laden victim mentality and spreading of fear. Two of the questions suggest that the city staff have covert motives.

The SOS organization appears to be determined to delay or prevent the construction of the MAT clinic no matter what. But at what cost? Does defeating the clinic justify a citizen bullying the city manager and demanding that he be fired to his face in a public meeting? Is this town enhanced by a city council member arguing with the city attorney and questioning her judgement and legal competence in front of us all? What’s the constructive intent in suggesting bias and covert intent on the part of the city manager, the community development manager and the city attorney? Is the imagined safety of no clinic worth the cost of leaving behind a deeply polarized community?

At one time the SOS web site displayed a challenge for officials and opponents to step forward and dialogue with them. Why don’t we have a serious dialogue? Why can’t we talk about this like neighbors, discuss our fears and concerns and seek common ground? Let’s resolve to unite as a single community, support this clinic and make it a resounding success making the city of Sequim stronger in the process. (Read a more in-depth discussion here.)