Biloxi methadone clinic resolution adopted with recommendation

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - The ruling on the Biloxi methadone clinic is final after months of consideration.

After a 3-2 vote at Tuesday’s city council meeting, the council has adopted a resolution saying the New Seasons Biloxi Treatment Center is in compliance with its conditional use permit.

“This clinic has done so much good for the citizens of Biloxi and so much for the citizens of Mississippi. It is a win-win for everybody,” said Mike Hurst, the attorney representing the clinic. “We are going to keep being good corporate citizens and keep working with the city of Biloxi to make sure people are safe and they are taken care of.”

With this approval comes a recommendation for the owners to meet with the council to discuss possible safety measures that could be taken, such as putting a fence around the property.

The council is not requiring a fence, but believes something could still be done to prevent confusion in the future about who’s involved with the clinic or not.

“Every time the city has come to them [the owners of New Seasons] with a concern, they have immediately corrected it,” said Hurst. “I continue to see the clinic be a good corporate citizen and wanting to help not only the city of Biloxi, but the citizens of Biloxi.

The clinic was brought into question towards the end of 2024 after allegations surfaced against the clinic, including violence among patients, needles in the parking lot and attracting homeless people.

The Biloxi Code Enforcement and Biloxi Police both testified at a planning commission meeting, saying the clinic was a “good neighbor.” The only violation the code enforcement brought up in the clinic’s eight-year history was a homeless camp behind the clinic that was reportedly taken care of in a timely manner.

Councilmen George Lawrence of Ward 1, Paul Tisdale of Ward 5 and Kenny Glavan of Ward 6 agreed to the recommendation, saying it was reasonable.

Ward 2 Councilman Felix Gines and Ward 4 Councilman Rodney McGilvary voted against the resolution with a recommendation, saying they felt there was no need for extra steps if all reports have come back clean.

Both Ward 3 councilwoman Dixie Newman and Ward 7 Councilman David Shoemaker were not present at this meeting.

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