Bettendorf council approves treatment center for Abbey

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By David Heitz | Wednesday, May 7, 2008 12:29 AM CDT | () comments

Bettendorf Abbey Hotel owner Joe Lemon addresses the Bettendorf City Council during their bi-weekly meeting, hoping to change the zoning from a hotel to a high-end addictions treatment center. (John Schultz/QUAD CITY TIMES) Buy this Photo

After listening to impassioned pleas from residents on both sides of the issue, the Bettendorf City Council voted 6-1 Tuesday night to allow the historic Abbey Hotel to operate as a high-end addictions treatment center.

Alderman Keith Kauten, 1st Ward, who lives two doors from the hotel, cast the lone no vote. The council will have to vote on the change twice more before it becomes official.

“What I’m concerned about is the person who comes down the road, next in line,” Kauten said of allowing the use.

About 60 people attended a public hearing before the vote, leaving council chambers at standing room only. Some residents fear the Abbey’s new use will depress property values and possibly bring crime to their neighborhood.

“All I can see is that you’re talking about moving junkies down the street from my 2-year-old son,” Stephanie Bauswell said as she burst into tears. “I don’t want to have to buy a gun.”

Dr. Francis Kane, the treatment center’s medical director, told Bauswell “unstable” people will not be allowed at the facility. “These are not people who are coming off of crack.”

Keith Hall, owner of QCA Pools & Spas in Bettendorf, lives across the street from the Abbey and just invested more than $1 million into his home. He said there’s nothing keeping hotel owner Joe Lemon from expanding his operation beyond 19 rooms if it is successful.

“Some of these people will have serious problems, problems no parent would want to expose their children to,” Hall said.

But other neighbors said Tuesday Lemon has been a top-notch hotel operator and deserves a chance to make his new venture successful. “This is not about hope, this is about faith,” said Greg Gutgsell.

Dan Frey disagreed. “The original intent of the Abbey was a house of God. Mr. Lemon’s intent is to take advantage of rich people who seriously need help.”

Some expressed concern about the facility not being locked. Lemon said clients will not be allowed to leave the facility unattended and trained staff will be there around the clock. He said the Abbey actually will know more about its clients as an addiction center than as a hotel. They will have guests’ medical information, family contacts and where they’re from.

Alderman Tim Stecker, at-large, asked Lemon how many beds he would need to fill at the 19-room treatment center to be profitable. Lemon said the Abbey would be making the same amount of money it’s making now with only eight clients.

“I believe in this business model,” Stecker said. “Mr. Lemon has proven in the past that he will be successful.”

Alderman Joe Douglas, 2nd Ward, said Lemon immediately addressed a parking shortage brought up by neighbors a few years ago by purchasing a second lot. “I think that speaks volumes about the kind of owner you’re dealing with.”

Lemon said the tony, 94-year-old former monastery simply wasn’t making it as a hotel. He opened the four-star property in 1992 after sinking $1 million into it. However, competition from the Isle of Capri Casino, which offers free rooms to high rollers, has crippled his business, he said.

The Isle, located just down the hill from the Abbey, opened a second hotel last summer and has a combined 514 rooms, the most rooms in one location in Iowa.

The addictions center will cater to corporate executives, doctors and lawyers, Lemon said, with most of them coming from out of state. The cost of getting sober in the posh Abbey will be about $20,000 per month, he said, adding that the center will not take court referrals.

The facility will be run by Mike Shovlain, who currently owns and operates New Life Outpatient Center, Inc. in Davenport, which in 1991 became the first private, for-profit intensive outpatient substance abuse program in Iowa.

The center will be overseen by the Iowa Department of Public Health, from which Lemon must obtain a license. Lemon expects to open as early as this fall.

David Heitz can be contacted at (563) 383-2202 or dheitz@qctimes.com.