Gov. LePage: Bangor, Freeport among alternative psychiatric unit locales
COURTESY / MATTHEW GAGNON, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
Gov. Paul LePage is looking for a new locale to build a psychiatric facility after lawmakers stalled his proposal to build it in the Capitol.
A new, more than $3 million psychiatric unit initially proposed for Augusta may be moved to Bangor, Freeport or an alternative site, as Gov. Paul Lepage said he’s shopping locations after lawmakers stalled his proposal to build the facility in the Capitol.
The governor told WVOM radio that the move to stop the unit was a “shot across the bow” by presumptive Democratic House Speaker Sara Gideon, according to Maine Public.
"Yeah, I'm going to get it (the facility), but it's just not going to be next to Riverview (Psychiatric Center) and we're not going to be able to use the same staff," the governor told the Bangor radio station.
The proposed 21-bed facility hit a snag when Democrats on the Legislative Council voted against it last week, according to Maine Public. A new council, representing the new Legislature, meets Thursday and is expected to reevaluate the psychiatric center proposal.
The new building is designed to improve conditions at the 92-bed Riverview Psychiatric Center, which has struggled to keep its federal certification since 2013.
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