Politics & Government

Selectman, Wilmington Resident Battle Over Detox Center Proposal

Selectman Michael McCoy says a Wilmington resident crossed the line with a Facebook post about his opposition to the detox center proposal.

WILMINGTON, MA -- It started with a petition to ban drug treatment facilities in residential neighborhood in Wilmington. It escalated to a Facebook post that a key backer of the petition claims crossed a line. And now it's an open letter that ends with a selectmen warning a resident to never "breathe a word about my family again."

Wilmington Selectmen Michael McCoy, who last month called the town manager a "sneaky little weasel" as a result of a dispute over his petition, sent a letter Sunday night to local media outlets responding to a November 9 Facebook post by Wilmington resident Michael Murphy. Murphy had discussed the proposal with McCoy when McCoy was collecting signatures in front of Market Basket.

In his post, Murphy attacked McCoy's rhetoric for the special town meeting article that will be debated December 16. McCoy has frequently argued that detox centers like the one that had been proposed for 362 Middlesex Avenue would bring an unsavory element into the town's residential neighborhoods.

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"I know this will seem like a low blow and heartless but Mr . McCoy has a son that has Mental health issues . I can speak on this because i have a brother who is Autistic. Who sought or is seeking treatment in a residential neighborhood," Murphy wrote "I have 2 children should I be worried that the mentally handicap escape and charge my home and attack or sexually assault my kids?"

While most of McCoy's public letter tried to clarify points on his proposal (full text of letter below), he was particularly pointed when discussing his son.

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"First of all, don’t you EVER talk about my son. He does not have 'mental health issues.' He is autistic. He is kind, gentle, hard working, devoted to his family and gets up every morning with no negative attitude toward anyone, unlike yourself," McCoy wrote. "In the political arena, it is an unwritten rule that spouses and more importantly children never get attacked. Mentioning my son was lower than low. You don’t even know the difference between mental health issues and autism. Obviously by your comments you don’t understand the difference so I won’t bother explaining it to you."

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Wilmington Selectmen have scheduled a special town meeting to consider a change of the town's zoning rules that would limit where drug treatment facilities can be located in town. The meeting will be Saturday, December 16 at 10:30 am and cost the town approximately $7,000. Even if the proposed zoning law passes, it's unlikely to stand because of previous state rulings on similar zoning rule proposals in other towns.

McCoy has been the most unspoken opponent on the five-member board of a proposal to build a drug treatment center at 362 Middlesex Avenue. McCoy organized residents to get signatures for a petition that forced the special town meeting. As proposed, the rule would limit drug treatment facilities to sections of town zoned for industrial uses.

What started out as opposition to a specific proposal for a 48-bed drug treatment facility has now expanded to an outright effort to all but ban any drug treatment facilities from locating Wilmington. While the location of the proposal that prompted McCoy to seek an overhaul of zoning laws was always a key flash point, other residents opposed the proposal because of the questionable track record of one of the project's key backers.

Even some of the opponents of the proposal conceded that, like many Massachusetts communities, Wilmington had been hard hit by the opioid epidemic. Many agreed that the town needed treatment facilities but wanted the town to better vet the operators of those facilities and consider the impact of potential locations.

"From the perspective of the police department, we need assistance. We need the help. It's heartbreaking. I sympathize with the folks that live in the neighborhood. I get it - I live in the neighborhood," Police Chief Michael Begonis said at Septmber meeting on the proposal. His comments echoed those of many people in Wilmington when it came to finding ways to address the opioid epidemic.

"I'm not here to tell you if this is the right location or the wrong location," Begonis continued. "My concern...is there are not a lot of people knocking on our door to help Wilmington specifically. I need beds because I've called at 5 o'clock on Friday night to try to get people help and they're your friends and neighbors."

Murphy was not available for comment Sunday night. His Facebook profile says he is a Wilmington resident and works at the International Longshoremen's Association Local 799 in Boston.

His complete Facebook post is here:

The complete text of McCoy's letter:

Dear editor

Facebook can be a good thing and at times it can be something awful when folks just spew out and have no regard for common decency. This is why I am responding to Michael Murphy of Wilmington in regards to his post on the Wilmington MA Community Board Page on Facebook, posting date November 9, 2017 at 12:39 a.m.

I state my anger with Mr. Murphy. Let me say that I was a selectman before I met my wife Danielle to whom I have been married for 26 years and we raised three children here in Wilmington who are all now adults. My wife and children did not sign up for my political office, but I did. Every three years I take out nomination papers, run a campaign and it is up to the residents whether I am to sit on the board or not. I understand this game very well. You can’t make everyone happy, but you just try your best to do what you believe is good and listen to the people who come to you for help. I have thick skin. I can tolerate individuals who have a difference of opinion, agree to disagree and I know when to respond and not to respond. Well Mr. Murphy, I am responding to you. On the Wilmington MA Community Board Page on Facebook, you state in your post and I quote “this will seem like a low blow and heartless but Mr. McCoy has a son that has mental health issues.” What’s amazing to me is that you recognize talking about my autistic son is a low blow, but you did it anyway. This is one of the most shameful acts I’ve ever seen.

First of all, don’t you EVER talk about my son. He does not have “mental health issues”. He is autistic. He is kind, gentle, hard working, devoted to his family and gets up every morning with no negative attitude toward anyone, unlike yourself. In the political arena, it is an unwritten rule that spouses and more importantly children never get attacked. Mentioning my son was lower than low. You don’t even know the difference between mental health issues and autism. Obviously by your comments you don’t understand the difference so I won’t bother explaining it to you. Maybe you should contact the Wilmington Police Department or better yet, look at the crime statistics compiled by the FBI and according to their website look into how many kids with autism are breaking into people’s homes and cars compared with drug addicts breaking into peoples homes and cars. I dare you to do this.

Now back to me. You continue on to say and I quote your posting again “should I worry about overeaters and will Mr. McCoy attack my fridge and steal my food? That one I can’t guarantee but I hope not.” I’ll answer that for you: should I ever find myself inside your house near your refrigerator I may eat a brownie or a slice of pizza but I guarantee you that I will not be going through your medicine cabinets stealing your prescription meds, nor I will not be stealing your wife’s jewelry or stealing your cash so that I can go out and buy drugs. Anyone who has lived with or loved a drug addict knows these statements are far too accurate. Again, I challenge you to contact the Wilmington Police Department and the FBI web page and look at the posted statistics regarding overweight people thefts versus drug related crimes. I dare you.

For the record, at the Town Meeting I supported the appropriation to hire a full time substance abuse counselor, which is the first in the Merrimack Valley Area. I went to the first candlelight vigil at the Town Common that was held to honor those who lost their lives to drug addiction. I have NEVER been opposed to a detox center opening up here in Wilmington. However, I am opposed, as is the good majority of the people in Wilmington are, a detox center being opened in a residential neighborhood. At the present time, Wilmington Zoning bylaws allow for drug detox facilities to be located in every residential and business zone in the whole town except for a commercially zoned district. So right now, a drug detox facility with a special permit from the Board of Appeals can open right smack in the middle of any neighborhood in town. A drug detox center can open up right next to the Shawsheen School in the general business district where Uncle Mickey’s is located as well as in all the residential neighborhoods in the area abutting the school. You could also put one into the neighborhood business zone where Greg’s Roast Beef is located, including all the neighborhoods that abut the Silver Lake area. And obviously, it can also be located at 362 Middlesex Ave. and into the neighborhoods consisting of hundreds of homes in the area. However you cannot currently put a drug detox facility in any of the commercial zoned districts off of Ballardvale Street near Target here in the town of Wilmington. That makes no sense whatsoever.

One last point regarding your post-you claimed that when I was at Market Basket getting signatures to rezone the detox center, you and I spoke at considerable length. Mr. Murphy, even after talking with and listening to hundreds of people, I assure you that I would have remembered talking with you based on the ridiculous and outlandish comments you made, but we did not speak. Several people with whom I spoke told me that they had no issue with the location of the detox center and I told every one of them that I respect that. I was always kind and nice to people even when we had differing opinions. One young lady named Kerianne Morris, who stands out in my mind and is also on the Facebook thread to which I am referring said it better than anyone and I encourage you to read her posts.

The first article I proposed was to specifically rezone detox centers and to put them in a commercial zone and take them out of all the other present zones. In my discussions with residents, many of them in the medical field said that they were opposed to relocating just a detox center to a commercial zone. What would be more appropriate should be full medical facilities which include hospitals, and of course detox centers, and be under one roof in commercial zones. After listening to them, I did just that. That’s when I created the second article. At the present time any medical facility, or nursing home, is grandfathered at its present location. I believe this second article that puts everything under one roof is the better and will be the more acceptable article for both sides. It’s a win-win for the community as a whole.

I encourage every registered Wilmington voter who is passionate about this issue no matter what side you’re on to come to the special town meeting on December 16 at 10:30 a.m. at the Wilmington High School Auditorium.

In closing, Mr. Michael Murphy, do not ever breathe a word about my family again. I will extend the same courtesy to you.

Selectman Michael V. McCoy

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Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).


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