Philadelphia could be stopped from renewing lease on addiction center in Fairmount

The city of Philadelphia could be blocked from renewing the lease on a facility in Fairmount that has been used as a shelter.

It's part of a bill that moved forward in city council on Wednesday.

A committee approved the bill on Wednesday, sending it to the full council.

This comes as the Parker administration has been working to address homelessness and addiction in the city.

The full city council is set to take this up on Thursday with the earliest it could see final passage by council next week.

The facility impacted by this is at 2100 West Girard Avenue and is the former Philadelphia Nursing Home that's been used as a shelter by the city for years.

Managing Director Adam Thiel has said that the goal here was to expand capacity at the existing facility by 75 beds.

Thiel said this is not one of the triage or wellness centers that the administration is planning for, but there have still been questions about how the larger plan will work.

The president of the Fairmount Civic Association Tim Butters told NBC10 about his experience testifying in favor of the bill and how by doing that, they're hoping for more transparency and a voice in what happens there.

"I think we would like a concrete plan for what exact service they’re providing what they’re plans are in the future and what services they’re going to provide in our neighborhood to make sure that whatever goes on in the facility doesn’t impact the neighborhood safety," Butters explained.

The bill would prevent the city from renewing the lease at that facility in the Fairmount neighborhood.

"The legislation before you today does not align with the administration’s vision and commitment to provide long-term care, treatment, and housing to our most vulnerable residents who are struggling with homelessness and addiction," Philadelphia's Deputy Managing Director for General Services David Wilson said in a written testimony. "We must ensure that the Mayor and City Council, presently and in the future, have every available resource at their disposal to respond to any unprecedented challenge facing the city of Philadelphia."

NBC10 has reached out to the city to get their reaction to this bill moving forward and was told that written testimony serves as their statement on this.

The full council will have the first reading of the bill at Thursday's council meeting.