LEWISTON — A proposed methadone clinic belongs downtown, close to the Lewiston Police Station, according to a Mollison Way pediatrician.

Dr. Linda Glass, owner of Lewiston Pediatric Associates at 33 Mollison Way, said she’s worried about the impact the proposed Merrimack River Medical Services facility would have on her practice, which is across from the proposed site.

Glass said she is worried about problems with the clinic’s clientele interacting with her patients and their parents.

“The worst case for me is that my patients will stop coming to my practice because they are worried what will happen,” Glass said. “These are not necessarily logical thoughts. They are feelings, and they have an impact.”

The Lewiston Planning Board is scheduled to review the application from Massachusetts-based Community Substance Abuse Centers to locate the first Lewiston-based methadone substance abuse clinic at 18 Mollison Way, in the same building as the Sparetime Recreation bowling alley.

If the Planning Board approves, the matter will go to the City Council in two public hearings. The first could be scheduled as early as March 15.

Methadone is used to treat addiction to opioid drugs, like heroin or Oxycontin. The company operates 12 clinics in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire and a 13th at 2300 Congress St. in Portland.

 Lewiston requires substance abuse treatment centers to get a business license from the city. That license must be approved by the City Council, which reviews it annually. The ordinance allows substance abuse treatment centers to be built as long as they are a minimum of 1,000 feet from churches, schools, parks or day care centers or facilities.

The proposed clinic fits all those criteria, according to an application the company filed with the city.

“I understand that the clinic they’ve proposed meets the zoning requirements, but there are more layers to it than just zoning,” Glass said. The Massachusetts-based company is interested in making a profit, not about what’s right or good for Lewiston.

“This is just the least expensive place in Lewiston they could put it,” Glass said. “There are other locations where it makes more sense.”

Glass said she thinks the clinic should be located downtown, near the Lewiston police station, even though that would put it near Kennedy Park.

“That would just add a level of security,” Glass said. “People tend to be on their best behavior when police are around. I don’t think that would hurt.”

According to its application, the company plans to use 6,224 square feet of first-floor space in the 18 Mollison Way building. That first floor is shared by the bowling alley, which takes up 19,536 square feet, a 6,480-square-foot vacant area and a 13,000 vacant area. The building has another 13,240 square feet of vacant space on the second floor.

If approved by the city and by state and federal medical licensing agencies, the center would be able to treat up to 500 patients and would employ between 15 and 18 people. The center would be open from 5 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays, distributing medicine until 11 a.m. The rest of the day would be devoted to counseling and treatment assessments.

The center would also be open from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. on weekends and holidays to distribute medicine and for group counseling.

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