ANDERSON, Calif. — Plans for a proposed youth behavioral health facility in Anderson have been scrapped after Anderson Community Church decided it would not make its land available for the project.
Shasta County Supervisor Kevin Crye said the decision leaves no way to move forward, as the proposal is now different from how it was presented.
“Right now, the current project that was presented to us is dead,” Crye stated.
Anderson Community church, Pastor Les Baugh announced the church’s decision Wednesday morning in a Facebook post. Crye said Baugh also texted him, saying he believes in the work but wants to respect the community’s decision.
“They heard the community loud and clear, and they could’ve tried to push it through, but they took a step back and said no—the community clearly doesn’t want it, and so they pulled out,” Crye said. The project had been planned for the church’s property. Crye said he was not surprised by the decision, adding that community input is a top priority.
“We have to listen to the people we serve and the districts we are in,” Crye said.
The development follows concerns about communication with local officials. Anderson city leaders said they were not made aware of the project until after the funding was approved, as noted in this link to an earlier article about the project. Crye said he believed the discussions were further along when the county acted.
“At the time of the board meeting, I thought the conversations were a lot farther than they were, but again that’s why you put contingencies in things like this,” Crye said.
Funding previously approved by Shasta County for the project will now be returned.
The proposal also included a Redding organization, Family Dynamics Resource Center. Requests for comment from the organization were not returned. While the Anderson project will not move forward, county officials said a similar youth behavioral health facility could still be possible in the future.