‘This has nothing to do with race’: Northern Wisconsin town wants to stop tribal youth recovery center

Leaders in the town of Cassian want to halt a proposed $18 million tribal youth recovery center that would be built in the northern Wisconsin community.

The Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council has proposed a 36-bed facility in the town that would treat tribal and nontribal teens for substance use disorder along with any co-occurring mental health conditions. The Adolescent Recovery and Wellness Center would serve youth ages 13 to 17 years of age from Wisconsin’s 11 tribes and the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in Michigan.

Leaders of the town, roughly 20 miles northwest of Rhinelander, passed a resolution in September asking the council to halt construction of the facility. The town board cited concerns about stress on infrastructure, reduction in property values and negative effects on public health and safety due to “increased public safety demands” for a remote facility.

Bryan Bainbridge, chief executive officer of the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council, told WPR’s “Route 51” he believes most of the vocal opposition is about hate and racism. He said it also shows a lack of understanding about the need for youth treatment in the region.

“We’re all concerned about the opioid epidemic, and the fentanyl that comes through,” Bainbridge said. “One way that we can curb that is … by providing a safe place for kids essentially through this youth facility. That’s a start.”

For two decades, Bainbridge said tribes have identified a need for such a facility. When he began looking for property two years ago, he said the council vetted more than 1,000 properties statewide.

Despite that, Town Chair Patty Francoeur said the facility is not a good fit for the town. She said the board has since hired an attorney to aid leaders with halting the project.

“This has nothing to do with race,” Francoeur said. “It has nothing to do with anything except it’s not a facility that fits for the town of Cassian, and the town of Cassian and its growth and for what the community itself wants.”

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Francoeur said the facility would be located off gravel roads that would require more maintenance due to increased traffic from the facility. Elected officials including Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany have also questioned the location of the center.

The town board said in its resolution that it would be unable to support construction or other “day-to-day demands” at a time when it’s receiving less funding. The board also said it’s worried about stressing emergency services when it’s already contending with long response times for ambulance service or law enforcement.

Town of Cassian resident Bill Gessler opposes the project for that reason. He’s concerned about the town’s ability to provide services if the facility were built and the cost that may pose to taxpayers. He also worried youth may leave the facility and break into homes either to find drugs or something of value. Gessler noted tribal youth would be prioritized for treatment, saying chances are slim that it would serve people from other racial backgrounds.

“I think that would make it 50 percent better if it was open to everybody, and not just preferred to Native Americans,” Gessler said. “I would still have the worries about the crime and the lack of emergency personnel.”

In an Oct. 31 letter, Bainbridge responded to the town’s resolution. He noted the council isn’t seeking financial support for construction, operations, infrastructure or maintenance. He also told WPR the area is already dealing with long response times, and the council doesn’t anticipate any increase in emergency or law enforcement services.

Bainbridge also questioned the town’s assertions that the facility would reduce property values. The town highlighted one 2014 study that found home prices near addiction treatment centers in central Virginia declined anywhere from 8 to 17 percent. The Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council pointed to a 2019 paper that found reduction in property values related to treatment centers are overstated, adding the benefits of such facilities may offset potential costs.

Bainbridge noted the facility would create 50 jobs, and he said they want to work together with the community to leverage resources to make upgrades to roads and internet service.

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Angie Higgins Koch lives across the street from the proposed facility. She said she was initially opposed to the center after hearing it would serve violent criminals, but she learned the facility is for tribal youth who are voluntarily seeking treatment.

“I think that if it’s a youth who wants to be someplace to get better, then that’s not a bad thing,” Higgins Koch said. “I would be grateful, and there aren’t many places for us to have that option.”

Some residents have said the facility won’t be secure, but Bainbridge said it will be a locked facility with around-the-clock monitoring.

“This facility is really for kids. It’s not for hardened criminals,” Bainbridge said. “It’s a place to establish wellness.”

The Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council submitted an application for a permit to build the facility in September. Oneida County Planning and Zoning Director Karl Jennrich said initial review of the proposed facility indicates it would be allowed under a conditional use permit.

Jennrich said a public hearing on the permit would be held in December at the earliest. The county will obtain input from the town, but the county’s planning and development committee will have the final say on whether to approve or deny a permit for the facility.

Bainbridge said the council wants to break ground on the center by the end of this year or early next pending approval and the weather.