Fourth Ward Councilman Mike Civiletto made an impassioned statement at Tuesday’s Common Council meeting, calling out County Executive George Borrello and the Chautauqua County Department of Health for failing to open a methadone clinic years ago.

“I did have a two-hour meeting with Mr. (Andrew) O’Brien, and what I gleaned, basically, was that UPMC (Chautauqua) was no longer interested in a methadone clinic as soon as they found out that there was competition,” Civiletto began. “They could have opened it up, but they didn’t see that they were going to make a profit, so they backed out.”

He feels that UPMC Chautauqua should have opened a facility and so should have Hispanics United. If they both opened, let the services and benefits of each speak for themselves, leading to one possibly folding at a later time.

However, what Civiletto was most ardent about was a perceived failure of the county itself to open one even before these entities came into play.

“The county health department has always had a license to open up a methadone clinic and they have refused,” Civiletto added. “They have taken all of their money from the state and they’ve dumped it into mental health because they believe that prevention and medication is what’s going to help someone who has an addiction, but that’s the way that our county thinks.”

Civiletto shared that he did have a one-on-one conversation with George Borrello the same day that he met with O’Brien, stating that immediately following their meeting, he went right up to Mayville.

“I found out that the county could have opened up a methadone clinic years ago in the spot down the road (306 Central Ave.), but they refused because it didn’t go along with their ideology — while people died. So George Borrello and his health department looked me in the face and said ‘we don’t believe in it.’ They could have done this 10 years ago if they wanted to. Why are we pointing at the mayor who saw a problem, at me who saw a problem, and Mr. O’Brien or UPMC or Hispanics United? Let’s talk about the real culprit here — the ones that could have opened up a clinic and refused, because they didn’t think it was a problem and people have died. The county could open up a clinic tomorrow if they wanted to. Why don’t you ask them, because they don’t have to have a profit. They’re getting money from the state.”

In a comment made to the OBSERVER following the meeting, Civiletto said simply that “the county has blood on their hands because they refused to open one up.”

Shortly after the meeting Civiletto headed to Jamestown for the debates going on there and asked Borrello, who is running for state senate, about the clinic.

The OBSERVER spoke to Borrello afterward. “He was basically trying to accuse me of something, but I don’t know what,” he said. “Mr. Civiletto really hasn’t accomplished much, so he’s dragging this methadone clinic into the race and is trying to throw the county under the bus in the process, which is just completely unjustified.”

When asked about whether the county, itself had a license to open a clinic, Borrello pointed out that there was confusion there.

“The license was granted by OASAS (the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services) to UPMC and UPMC was moving forward, which is what Andy O’Brien was talking about.”

According to Borrello, OASAS commissioner Arlene Gonzalez-Sanchez came in and decided that she was going to “change things” and authorized Hispanics United from Buffalo to come in with more than 400 slots to fill (slots being patients), which would saturate the marketplace here.

“We certainly do need methadone treatment here and that’s what UPMC was moving forward with, but politics got in the way and disrupted that progress by having Hispanics United come in with a huge proposal,” Borrello added. “My understanding is that in Chautauqua County, we have a few dozen individuals that are using methadone, so what’s going to happen is they (Hispanics United) are going to have to bring people in from throughout the region for daily treatments in Dunkirk. That’s not right for Dunkirk and not right for Chautauqua County. This is just a business model that’s being shoved down our throat by the commissioner of OASAS.”

Borrello went on to say that he stands by Mayor Wilfred Rosas’ comments when he says that “all I want is to help people.”

“Everybody wants the same thing — we want treatment and help locally, but the way this is being handled now, under the direction of OASAS isn’t proper. It’s too many slots. UPMC was pushed aside in favor of Hispanics United with a business model that’s not sustainable with just local patients.”

Borrello also refuted Civiletto’s comments regarding him ever saying that “he doesn’t believe in it.”

“That’s a complete lie. The health department has nothing to do with it, it’s the department of mental hygiene,” Borrello said. “I’m not sure what he’s talking about that ‘we don’t believe in it.’ What I don’t believe in is having this large number of patients when we already had a license for UPMC to come in and provide services. I never said I don’t believe in providing those services, that’s a lie.”