Aberdeen Mayor Pete Schave said at Wednesday’s City Council meeting that he would like to write a letter to the Grays Harbor County Commissioners requesting that the county’s syringe exchange program be moved out of Aberdeen, but later in the meeting — after hearing council members say they would mostly support the program staying in Aberdeen, with some changes — he said he wouldn’t be doing so.

“I’m not asking for the needle exchange to be stopped. I would just like to ask the county commissioners to move it out of Aberdeen,” Schave said. The mayor’s comment prompted several responses during the council’s comment period, after which the mayor said he probably wouldn’t be writing that letter to the county.

Schave’s comments came a day after the Grays Harbor County Board of Commissioners held a workshop to discuss issues related to the needle exchange, including a resolution by Commissioner Wes Cormier that would require local approval for the program at the city level.

Councilwoman Deborah Ross said, “If Aberdeen says ‘no’ and all the other communities say ‘no’, then we have to get rid of the program, and it’s a valuable program.”

Councilwoman Karen Rowe said she supports the program based on information from people who know a lot more about it than she does, but that there should be some changes to make it more efficient and effective.

“I agree it needs to be at the health department. The health department is located in Aberdeen. … If we ask for it to leave Aberdeen, then it’s not going to be at the health department,” she said.

“I wouldn’t support the letter the way (the mayor) is describing it, but I would support advocating for some changes to the program,” she said.

Councilwoman Shaney Frame Crosby said, “I personally believe that the mobile unit is on wheels for a reason, and it could easily be servicing the community without having to bring all the drug addicts in the entire county to Aberdeen eight times a month.”

“I don’t have a problem with the health department staying and doing the needle exchange, but I would like to see some changes made — limits on how many needles are given,” she said.

Councilman Nathan Kennedy said he agreed with other council members on the need for changes to the program.

He said he wouldn’t support moving the needle exchange out of Aberdeen completely, but that it could be here less frequently.

“Get it moving around so everybody isn’t centralized here,” he said.

“This is a nationwide societal issue. We cannot solve it here in Aberdeen” said Councilman Tim Alstrom. “I don’t have the solutions, but any actions we take or don’t take are going to have reactions,” he said.

Councilman Joshua Francy said he encounters used needles frequently when doing local cleanups, including 280 needles last year. He said the problem would only get worse if the needle exchange program is stopped or relocated.

After the discussion, Mayor Schave acknowledged the lack of support on the council for moving the needle exchange out of Aberdeen.

“Well, clearly I’m not going to write the letter as described,” he said.

The needle exchange program is administered by the county’s health department.