Those driving by the Ozark Mountain Alcohol Residential Treatment facility in Gassville, and the sign identifying it, would not notice the changes occurring over the past year. But a different traffic pattern around the OMART facility caught the attention of the alert Gassville Police Chief Tim Mayfield leading him to make an inquiry at the facility earlier this year only to be turned away.
Karen Hopper has more on the story.
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Internally, the operation of OMART quietly evolved over the past year. It was a process Gassville city officials say had been too quiet. Externally, city officials were noticing changes.
In a meeting with members of the media this week, Gassville Mayor Jeff Braim says the actions by the OMART employee with Chief Mayfield led them to seek transparency regarding the facility’s operation. Their quest led to a meeting earlier this year with local and state law enforcement, as well as state legislators.
Through the process, they learned the facility founded as a drug or alcohol rehabilitation center with a primary focus on substance abuse treatment is now exclusively a transitional housing center for parolees.
Board chairman Heith Hogan told the media representatives OMART has been partially engaged in transitional housing with Arkansas Community Correction for about 10 years, accommodating as many as 16 men in the agency’s back wing, with a mobile home used for female residents. Today, the facility is licensed to house about 50 medium level male offenders. Residents generally are allowed to stay up to 60 days and wear ankle monitors. In some cases, stays are extended an additional 30 days.
Hogan says the move to a complete transitional housing facility began in 2017 as OMART continued to see declining state revenue, with funding for drug and alcohol treatment being moved to other locations across Arkansas.
It was noted the transitional housing operation in Gassville for prison parolees with an ACC approved parole plan should not be confused with failed efforts to operate a facility in Cotter that temporarily housed prison inmates. The 10 inmates at the Cotter facility were in a six-month program designed to help them prepare for parole status.
The Gassville facility operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with eight employees and a five-member board. Mayor Braim noted the City of Gassville does not receive any compensation from OMART.
Hogan says because of the partial operation for transitional housing, OMART was grandfathered in as an exclusive temporary home for parolees, with no notifications required. However, he acknowledged in the meeting the process could have been handled better.
For further clarification, Mayor Braim repeated his request at the meeting for the sign identifying OMART to be amended to accurately reflect the changes that have occurred in the past year.
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