LEWISTON — The City Council will wait until at least next month to vote on a proposed ordinance regulating syringe service providers in the city following a broad ranging discussion on the issue of needle waste Tuesday.

The ordinance, drafted in response to ongoing community concern over improperly discarded needles, has sparked a larger debate over the role of syringe service providers in Lewiston, and whether regulating them locally could improve the atmosphere for downtown businesses.

However, those working in harm reduction and recovery say the current model is working to limit fatal overdoses, and they want to work with local officials on the issue of needle waste instead of making changes they say would be detrimental to their efforts.

The council decided to continue the public hearing and first reading on the ordinance until after it holds a workshop sometime before the next regular council meeting July 15.

Lewiston has two needle exchanges operating in the city which are licensed by the state. Earlier this month, state officials asked Lewiston to work with them on the ordinance language, and appeared especially concerned with language that would limit needle exchanges in the city to a one-for-one model.

A 2022 change moved away from a one-to-one needle exchange to a more needs-based model, under which programs can give out as many as 100 clean needles at a time. Public health officials say evidence shows that a one-for-one model is more likely to result in reusing of needles that can spread blood-borne diseases like hepatitis C and HIV.

It appears, for now, that a majority of councilors are opposed to shifting to a one-for-one exchange.

Councilor Michael Roy said the ordinance as written would be “creating barriers to the services people need.”

The ordinance under consideration by the council would also put a cap on how many syringe service providers can operate in the city, and regulate where they can be located.

While councilors largely agreed that they do not want to implement an ordinance that would impact harm reduction and recovery efforts in the city, some acknowledged that more needs to be done to mitigate the behaviors of clients in the vicinity of needle exchanges, particularly in the Main Street area near the Church of Safe Injection.

Evan Mancini, owner of Mancini’s Deli on Park Street, said that as the next door neighbor to the Church of Safe Injection, his business has had to contact Lewiston police hundreds of times due to issues like open substance use, public defecation and behaviors that effect the broader public’s ability to navigate the area and come to his business.

He said while he supports harm reduction efforts, when the Church of Safe Injection recently closed for several weeks, there was a “clear and positive shift” in the neighborhood, and the “correlation is too strong to ignore.”

Several councilors said they would be open to reviewing the zoning implications of the proposed ordinance to potentially limit needle exchanges from operating in the downtown business district.

Councilor Josh Nagine said what syringe service providers do is “paramount” and he does not support going to a one-for-one model, but he said the council does have the power to decide through zoning what is an incompatible use for the downtown.

The proposed ordinance also includes language for a “good neighbor” policy, similar to the city’s ordinance for regulating shelters.

During public comment, several local service providers argued against the ordinance, particularly the one-for-one exchange and zoning that could limit the ability to operate if they were not grandfathered.

Catherine Ryder, senior director of strategic initiatives for Spurwink, which also operates a needle exchange, said that as written, the ordinance “would effectively shutter both programs.”

She said both have “made a significant difference” in the city, and that Spurwink has not received complaints from its neighbors.

“We know the program is effective because we track data,” she said, adding that overdoses have declined in the past few years, particularly in Lewiston.

Dani Shiflett, who said she is in long-term recovery from opioid addiction, said she was surprised when she first learned that needle exchanges handed out clean syringes. But, she said she quickly realized “it was much more than that.” The organizations employ recovery coaches, conduct health testing and other services. Shiflett said she has hepatitis C due to using a dirty needle.

“I don’t want to see that happen to other people in this community,” she said. “I don’t want to shut down a program that saved my life.”

Zoë Lidstrom, a Lewiston resident, urged councilors to remember that people dealing with addiction “are part of our community.”

“The issue of having to see a needle on the street pales in comparison to what these people are going through,” she said.

Anne Sites, director of infectious disease prevention at the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told the council that “reducing needle access has been linked to poor community health outcomes,” and restricting the amount of clean needles distributed does not mean there will be fewer improperly disposed needles.

Nikki Butler, who works for Maine Access Points, a syringe service program in Sanford, said there have been “real and concerning impacts” since the city instituted a one-for-one exchange in November 2024. She said they are seeing fewer new clients and have had to turn people away due to a lack of supply, which leads to increased needle sharing.

Councilor Tim Gallant, speaking as a resident from the public comment podium, said he lost a son to drug addiction. He said whatever the city decides to do, it should be “designed to help, not hinder.”

Others asked for an ordinance that strikes more of a balance between supporting harm reduction efforts and safety concerns for residents and businesses.

Councilor Eryn Soule-Leclair said councilors are not looking to shut down the existing needle exchanges, but that the location in the downtown “needs to change.”

“Where’s the middle ground?” she asked. “There has to be some accountability.”

On Friday, Church of Safe Injection and Spurwink are teaming up with Maine Recovery Access Project, ab Augusta-based nonprofit, on a community cleanup in downtown Lewiston.

Councilor Scott Harriman said he’s hopeful the council is on the right track by taking more time to draft the ordinance.

‘We’re all looking to do the right thing here,” he said.