photo by: Journal-World

The west side of the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St.

A new proposal could increase Douglas County’s detox capacity by up to 60% by establishing four to six dedicated detox beds at Avalon Wellness & Recovery Center.

On Wednesday, county staff are seeking feedback from the County Commission on redirecting funding from the existing social detox services to Avalon, which would partner with organizations including Heartland RADAC, the Treatment and Recovery Center, and potentially ALIVE Inc.

The goal with the new proposal is to offer interpersonal support to intoxicated individuals and individuals in substance use withdrawal with a more locally based detox program while expanding capacity and reducing barriers to care.

With the proposal, Avalon would provide four to six dedicated social detox beds in Douglas County for people experiencing substance use-related crises. The restructuring is expected to increase the available social detox bed days by 50% to 60%.

Avalon estimates that four beds operating at 85% occupancy could provide about 1,241 bed nights annually and serve roughly 620 individuals per year, assuming an average stay of two days.

Those seeking a social detox would be referred to Avalon for a typical one- to three-day stay before being connected with ongoing treatment providers such as DCCCA, Mirror Inc. or Heartland RADAC. The facility would offer 24-hour supervision, trauma-informed support, case management, peer support, discharge planning and connections to ongoing treatment services.

The proposal is also expected to relieve pressure on the TRC, a memo in the agenda said. However, individuals in crisis would still be referred to Avalon from the TRC, where they are evaluated by a psychiatric nurse practitioner, who would determine whether they need psychiatric care, medical detoxification or social detox services.

To fund the first six months of this proposal, Avalon will be requesting $142,350 in funding to support staff and program implementation. After six months, Avalon would bill the county $195 per occupied bed night. The annual cost for 2027 is not expected to exceed $284,700 and would include monthly reporting on bed utilization, referrals, admissions, discharges and treatment outcomes.

The new proposal from Avalon will be discussed during a work session as an informational item with no action to follow. If commissioners support the idea, staff will begin negotiating a service contract and return with a formal agreement for consideration in July.

IN OTHER BUSINESS, COMMISSIONERS WILL:

• Consider approving a site plan for a landscape and lawn case business on 18.5 acres south of North 1800 Road. The plan proposes the construction of a new 11,900-square-foot building, a 16-space asphalt parking lot and an exterior storage area to the west of the proposed building.

According to a memo in the agenda, the development was asked to include plans for fire protection measures. The plans propose a 4,000-gallon cistern for fire protection and this was approved by Consolidated Fire District 1.

• Consider authorizing the disposal of surplus furniture and technology equipment following the expansion of the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center and the construction of the new Public Safety Building.

The county is following a process in its finance policy: first transferring usable furniture to other county departments, then offering remaining items free of charge to community partners, townships and special districts on a first-come, first-served basis. Any remaining items may be sold through the online auction platform, Purple Wave, or a potential employee sale for valuable equipment, with proceeds going into equipment reserves. Property that cannot be reused or sold and has little value will be disposed of.

• Consider authorizing a contract with Nextran Truck Centers for a Mack Granite 64BR heavy truck, dump bed, snowplow and salt spreader in the amount of $288,560. The new truck will replace an existing truck purchased in 2017.

The County Commission will have a work session beginning at 4 p.m. Wednesday in the Douglas County Commission meeting room at 1100 Massachusetts St. The business meeting will follow at 5:30 p.m. The meeting will also be available via Zoom.