Turlock Mayor Reagan Wilson sent a letter to the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors this week reiterating the city’s opposition to a mental health residential care facility proposed for construction near Dutcher Middle School.
There has been a standoff between the city and county for months over the proposed site along Colorado Avenue, about 100 yards from Dutcher (1441 Colorado Ave.).
“The City opposes the proposed amendment to extend our contract with Alamo Health and A&A Health (“Alamo”), which includes the work they perform for the County at their facility located at 1617 Colorado Street in Turlock,” Wilson began his June 19 letter.
The city claims the facility targets “people with severe mental illness, those who are homeless, and those recently released from state or county jails.”
The county disputes that portrayal.
“A&A Health Services provides transitional residential boarding and care to stable behavioral health clients to support their recovery,” the county said in a release to the Journal. “The county has placed clients in the same Turlock facility with previous service providers for decades. Behavioral health and recovery service clients referred to the reopened Colorado Avenue facility fully meet state admission guidelines.”
2nd District Supervisor Vito Chiesa, who represents Turlock County and the surrounding area, said Wilson sent a letter to the county before June 19.
“We responded to the first letter, but we asked for an update on the project’s progress, and he never responded to that question,” Chiesa said. “Now he’s sent us this letter, and we’re responding to it. But we’re not involved in the land use decision. The city, through its business permits and issuance of permits, has the power to allow or disallow this project, and somehow we’re the ones who are caught up in making it either successful or unsuccessful.”
The A&A contract is one of 100 agreements with 72 providers that will be considered at the Board of Oversight meeting on Tuesday.
“The current 2023-2024 amended contract with A&A Health Services, which was reviewed by the City of Turlock, was used as the template for the 2024-2025 renewal,” the county noted in its release.
Later in the June 19 letter, Wilson accused the county of acting without the city’s knowledge and scolded it for “showing zero concern for the impact this facility will have on Turlock.”
Wilson, who previously served as Stanislaus County’s CEO, ended the letter by writing, “…it may be instructive that Alamo held the county government fully accountable for not informing city leadership of the company’s plans for the facility. This comment was made by Alamo CEO Betty Dominici during a Zoom call with her team on February 12, 2024.”
But Alamo said it had no issues in its deal with the county.
“It is unfortunate that the City of Turlock continues to have confusion and misunderstandings about the nature of this project,” Dominici said. “We believe Alamo has always had a very strong working relationship with the county and we expect that to continue in the future.”
The county had contracted with A&A Health Services for the San Pablo facility, but amended the contract following A&A’s November 2023 purchase of the Turlock property to meet the need to provide health care locally.
“I say the same thing I always say,” Chiesa said, “If we can send people out of the county and keep Turlock residents in Turlock facilities, why wouldn’t we do that? Because those are the two controlling factors in the situation, assuming zoning works for the city and the state allows the licenses. But we want to contract with local facilities to bring in local people.”
Services provided at the Colorado Avenue facility include assistance with basic self-care, including meals, medication management, health and hygiene monitoring, interpersonal communication, conflict resolution and social and recreational skills.
Tuesday’s board of supervisors meeting will be held at 9 a.m. at the county chambers, 1010 10th St., Modesto. Anyone wishing to voice concerns can do so during the public comment period.
