Open Letter to McLean Hospital Board, Harvard and Massachusetts General

- Private group -
Wed, 04/02/2014 - 9:45am

April 1, 2014

Open letter to the Board of Trustees and President of McLean Hospital, Board of Fellows and President of Harvard University and Board of Trustees and President, Massachusetts General Hospital.

You may or may not be aware of the initiative by a group of private investors, known as Fox Hill Real Estate, LLC (FHRE), in conjunction with members of McLean management, to establish a commercial drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility in the middle of a pristine and quiet residential area in Camden, Maine. Initially this group of “get rich quick” investors, supported by McLean Management, attempted to change Camden’s residential zoning laws to allow them to convert a residential property to a commercial property.  Fortunately after many months of conflict between the investors and the members of the township, the town denied the exception request, thereby preserving the sanctity of its zoning provisions.

Despite the town’s denial of their request, this group of investors has decided to continue their attempt to open their facility at Fox Hill by resorting to a strategy whereby they are twisting the interpretation of Federal Law to attempt an end run around the Town’s decision and the will of the residents. On March 27, a group of residents living in the affected area filed action in Federal Court seeking a Declaratory Judgment to block this latest attempt.

Isn’t it time for McLean to abandon its association with this group of “get rich” investors and protect its excellent reputation and mission to be a good corporate citizens?  Does McLean want to be viewed as a predator of properties within residential areas and a destroyer of zoning provisions and the local decision making process?

As a former Officer of General Electric, my answer would be to immediately disassociate McClean from this lawsuit. I am hoping that the Board of Trustees and President of McLean will take such action. Similarly, I hope the Boards of Harvard and Mass General will support taking this action.

Robert P. Collins, 4 Stetson Avenue, Camden Maine 04843