Butte County approves lease and BHCIP tenant improvements for 40‑bed mental health rehabilitation center as SB43 services ramp up

Butte County supervisors on Sept. 30 approved a long‑term lease and capital improvements to prepare a portion of 560 Cohasset Road for a 40‑bed Mental Health Rehabilitation Center (MHRC) as the county moves to implement Senate Bill 43.

Scott Kennelly, director of behavioral health, told the board that SB 43 expands the legal definition of grave disability under the Lanterman‑Petris‑Short Act so that people with standalone substance‑use disorders or chronic untreated medical problems may be evaluated for involuntary treatment. Kennelly said the county has spent months preparing policies, trainings and infrastructure ahead of a Jan. 1 implementation date for SB 43 in Butte County.

Kennelly said the county’s 12‑bed sobering center has recorded 2,609 admissions over the past year and that a range of additional services is being expanded: mobile crisis teams are nearly fully staffed after recent salary increases; Orchard Hospital’s psychiatric health facility is expected to open in late 2026; county staff are pursuing additional board‑and‑care beds; and medication‑assisted treatment training has been provided to clinicians. Kennelly also flagged two statewide barriers: a shortage of medical‑psychiatric inpatient beds and a shortage of behavioral‑health‑skilled nursing facility beds, which limit placement options for medically complex patients.

Separately, Michael Hodson, director of general services, described a lease agreement the board approved with Enloe Medical Center for 22,389 square feet at 560 Cohasset Road. The lease term is 30 years at a starting rent of $1.67 per square foot with 2% annual increases. The county is authorized to accept $6,682,600 in tenant improvements funded by the Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP). Hodson said the county will solicit a private provider via a forthcoming request for proposals (RFP) to operate the MHRC; the lease and deed restriction for the grant require a 30‑year commitment to the facility’s behavioral‑health use.

The board’s motion approved the lease, authorized the chair to sign, and approved the capital project and related budget amendment to accept BHCIP funds for tenant improvements.

Board members praised the behavioral‑health team’s progress while several supervisors asked staff to provide follow‑up performance data, including how many sobering‑center clients were linked to ongoing behavioral‑health services.

Provenance: The SB 43 status update and sobering‑center statistics were presented by Scott Kennelly in the behavioral health quarterly update beginning at 00:46:45 of the meeting; the lease, tenant‑improvement amount and vote occurred in agenda item 4.12 beginning at 01:02:05 and the board vote is on the record.