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County Seeks Drug-Testing Site: Downtown Business Complains About Madison Ave. Facility

Posted on: Tuesday, 24 January 2006, 12:00 CST

By Erica Blake, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio

Jan. 24--Lucas County commissioners are looking to relocate the drug-testing facility that has operated at 1111 Madison Ave. for the last 10 years - a move prompted by safety concerns and parking issues raised by a prominent downtown business. Dennis Johnson, president of Brooks Insurance Agency, said cars began stopping illegally in front of the county-owned building almost immediately after the centralized drug testing program opened its doors. Over the years, Mr. Johnson has been in contact with county officials asking for some sort of help. Tina Skeldon Wozniak, president of the commissioners, said the solution likely may be moving the program to the former Child Study Institute on 10th Street. "We're trying to make a move that makes sense for that institution and makes sense for the business owner," she said. "He made it clear that he needs help, and we're listening." In addition to the drug-testing program, the building on Madison Street houses the county's work-release and electronic-monitoring programs, said Jean Atkin, administrator of Lucas County Common Pleas Court. The building is accessed through two different entrances - work-release participants enter off 11th Street, the rest through an entrance on Madison, she said. The facility is responsible for taking about 5,000 samples a month for drug testing. An additional 70 or 75 people are involved in the electronic-monitoring program, Ms. Atkin said. But despite the volume of traffic going to the building, there is minimal parking, mostly street metered parking. Mr. Johnson, whose company has been at 1120 Madison Ave. since 1931, stressed that it's the lack of parking that has caused backups and crashes near his building and prompted some of the people going to the county's building to use his parking lot. "If the county provided adequate parking, I'd be perfectly happy," he said. "It's not correct to say people haven't listened or that they haven't tried to make things work. It's just that they haven't been able to find another facility." Mr. Johnson added that Toledo police have responded to the area numerous times but that, short of having a permanent police presence, the problem doesn't seem to have a solution at the facility's current location. Commissioner Maggie Thurber, who said she was first contacted by Mr. Johnson in September, said correspondence between Brooks Insurance Agency and the county appears to have begun more than five years ago. She added that she is concerned it has taken so long for the county to respond. She said her last update on the issue came in October when the facilities department estimated it would cost about $25,000 to move the operation to the 10th Street building. Ms. Atkin said the Common Pleas judges are aware of the situation and would approve a move, if the new facility was adequate. She said that the work-release program - which has a 95-person capacity - would remain at its current location because the building is outfitted to handle overnight stays. In an attempt to satisfy some of Mr. Johnson's concerns, Ms. Atkin said the court amended the facility's hours to address large volumes of people arriving at one time. The facility now is trying to spread out the traffic to alleviate peaks during the day. "We do realize that our clientele can be problematic," Ms. Atkin said. "The bottom line is that we want to be a good neighbor." Contact Erica Blake at: eblake@theblade.com or 419-724-6076.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio

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Source: The Blade

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