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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels November 26, 2004 Project for mentally ill on track By JoNel Aleccia For the Tidings A Medford center for mentally ill criminals and others is on track to open this spring, thanks in part to prodding from neighbors who don't want it in Ashland. A $750,000 renovation of a former Jackson County library building on Hazel Street will be open for bids in mid- December, completed by April and occupied by May, according to an architect's timeline released this week. The center will provide 16 beds for mentally ill people, including several who have committed violent felonies. The clients have resided since June at the Hazel Center in Ashland, sparking controversy among neighbors. Deltra Ferguson, who lives across from the temporary center at 330 Maple St., said neighbors remain eager for the new site to be completed. "Thus far, nothing dangerous has happened that has made it out into the neighborhood," said Ferguson, mother of toddler twins. "We've been kind of asking them regularly what's going on." That vigilance has had an effect on Jackson County officials. Medford architect Ron Grimes, who's in charge of the renovation, said he's been pushed to keep the project on time and on budget. "They've had a gun to my head," Grimes joked. County health Director Hank Collins said he's eager to finish the $1.7 million project to provide shelter to people who are deemed ready for release from the state mental hospital in Salem. "The neighbors in Ashland have been keeping up the pressure," Collins said. Pending lawsuits have forced state leaders to create centers to provide community care for people supervised by the Oregon Psychiatric Safety and Review Board. Collins was one of the first county leaders in the state to respond to such requests. However, the clients were ready to go before the new center was ready for them, he said. Neighbors in Ashland were worried that the clients, who include several men convicted of crimes such as assault, sodomy and attempted murder, might pose a danger to local residents. Ferguson said the center should never have been situated in a residential area, even temporarily. The new Hazel Center will be in an area zoned for industrial and commercial uses, Grimes said. When completed, the 9,000- square-foot center will represent a renovation of three county-owned buildings, including the former library storage unit at 1911 Hazel St. It will be next to Jackson County's recently relocated methadone treatment center, Collins noted. Grimes said there's every reason to think the center will be open on time. "I think we are on track and I'll make the schedule," he said. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams