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An attorney for the nonprofit Teen Challenge Training Center requested a continuance almost immediately after the originally scheduled zoning board hearing began on Oct. 20. Attorney John A. Mateyak said a flier distributed near the center's proposed site earlier this month sparked rumors in the community, and Teen Challenge had not yet had a chance to address them.
"There has been some misinformation floating around the neighborhood," Mateyak said. "We'd like the chance to resolve that in a neighborhood setting instead of at a zoning meeting."
The township's zoning hearing board unanimously approved the request, continuing the meeting until Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m. Many in the standing-room-only crowd were upset by the delay.
If approved, Teen Challenge Training Center would serve adult men ages 19 to 65 in the former BCM International Building at 309 Colonial Drive. The 24-bed, faith-based rehabilitation program would be located near homes and a public park in Akron.
Residents said the neighborhood was blanketed with an anonymous four-page flier after the organization's zoning request was reported in the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era on Oct. 2.
Jessica Diirner of Akron said she found the flier on her car after returning from vacation. It raised questions about background checks for occupants, and it disputed Teen Challenge's policy of rejecting all violent criminals, sex offenders and mentally ill applicants.
Diirner said she worries about a rehabilitation facility moving into a neighborhood that is home to as many as 30 children.
Mateyak said he did not want to talk about the specifics of the flier on Oct. 20. Instead, he has scheduled a public forum for Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at New Beginnings Brethren in Christ Church in the BCM building, at 309 Colonial Drive.
Some in the crowd had come to the Oct. 20 meeting ready to testify on behalf of Teen Challenge, which has centers in Rehrersburg, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, other Pennsylvania cities and in New York and North Carolina.
Dennis Foltz is a member of New Beginnings Church, which plans to operate above the treatment center. He came to the meeting with the flier in hand, his rebuttals to the anonymous author's accusations hand-written in the margins.
"Like everyone else, I had some serious concerns (about the facility), but I went into it with an open mind," Foltz said. "I've come to the conclusion that no matter where they settle on, they'll be an extreme benefit to the community."
