Already the proposed medication assisted treatment (MAT) clinic has created a schism within the Sequim community.
Citizens have gathered, petitioned and voiced their discontent with the proposed MAT clinic.
Many question its need and certainly its ability to cure.
Others object to locating the MAT in the center of Sequim.
I object because this experimental road seriously lacks guard rails.
Once permitted to operate in the city, it will leave an irreparable stain on our community.
The damage that the MAT will cause will be beyond remediation.
Those that propose the MAT offer no guarantee or recompense for the problems the MAT will create.
The cost of responding to those problems will demand higher taxes.
Departments such as the police, sanitation, public works, schools and fire will need to increase response and resources to attend to the problems the MAT creates.
More harm than good will be the MAT’s legacy within the community.
Look around.
The first hammer has yet to be swung and yet the community is already split and reeling.
Many who support the MAT are not living or trying to sustain a business in the immediate vicinity of where it’s intended to be established.
Allowed to move forward, within Sequim, the MAT will inevitably hollow out not only the core of this city but the citizenry as well.
The effect on Sequim will be pervasive and erosive.
Acting now can save our Sequim.
Acting after the fact is futile.
Tim Paschal
Sequim