To the Editor:

I am writing in response to your article, “Possible drug, alcohol treatment center sparks concerns”.

My son, John Coughlin, is a principal in an organization that has taken over the inn located at 13 South Boulevard, Onset. The property is presently under interior renovations and updates.

The inn will be under the control and operation of Hopewell Recovery LLC (www.hopewellrecovery.com)  and not associated with Gianna’s House, Inc., a Wareham-based nonprofit 501(c) corporation which operates a chain of sober living housing in the South Coast area.

I am associated with the owner of the property, Antonio Gomes, whom I worked with in my position of Constable, to assist him in removing non-paying residents and known drug users and dealers. The process took more than three months, with many court appearances at no cost to Mr. Gomes.

Upon completion of said renovations, the inn will be reopened as an inn for residents who are recovering from substance abuse and who are looking for a safe, drug-free environment in which to live.

The inn is not to be a treatment center or medical facility of any type and never will be.

As for the permits, the only permit required will be to renew the expired Inn Keepers License. This will not be and never was intended to be a halfway house. It has been an inn for more than 30 years and will continue to be an inn. The only difference will be is that all residents will be non-drug users (something new to the neighborhood). There will also be staff on-duty at the inn.

This operation has been discussed individually to some degree  with the Town Administrator, the Director of Inspectional Services, and the Onset Fire Department. We have in no way attempted to hide what is taking place at 13 South Boulevard. We are here helping the community. Take a minute and look at what the inn has been over the past years and what we are going to make it: A plus for the community.

Steven P. Coughlin

Onset