LEOMINSTER — The Leominster City Council approved the appropriation of $25,000 in opioid settlement funding for the Montachusett Recovery Center at its Oct. 26 meeting.
Mayor Dean Mazzarella requested that the appropriation be made out of the mayor’s capital expense line in the general fund, with the same amount to be transferred from the opioid stabilization fund to support the center’s community recovery services.
The Montachusett Recovery Center, located at 106 Carter Street, provides community recovery support and meeting space for self-help and recovery groups, according to its website.
Finance Committee Chair Mark Bodanza said councilors had received a packet outlining the services the Montachusett Recovery Center plans to provide with the funding, which he said are aimed at tackling the addiction problem through various support mechanisms in the community.
Bodanza said the point of moving the money is to make sure the settlement funds are used for what they were intended for.
“This all comes from the opioid settlement fund and part of the idea is to make sure we are using this money in an appropriate way and, in fact, using it because there has been some controversy, not so much here, but in other communities, that the money is not getting used,” Bodanza said.
The council approved the funding, 7-0.
