GRAY, Tenn. (AP) — Mountain States Health Alliance and East Tennessee State University are hosting a community meeting for residents and officials to discuss a proposed opioid addiction clinic site in the rural Johnson City suburb of Gray.

Danny Sells, a member of "Citizens to Maintain Gray," said more than 1,500 people have signed the group's petition opposing the site, the Johnson City Press (http://bit.ly/29tvVa8) reported. Sells said he expects 300 people to attend Thursday's meeting to voice their concerns about the center and the effects they believe it could have on the community.

Residents attending the meeting will have a chance to directly address ETSU President Brian Noland and Mountain States CEO Alan Levine with their concerns about the proposed methadone clinic location, according to the Johnson City Press report.

The informal meeting is required by the Johnson City Regional Planning Commission before the property can be rezoned as a medical district.

"We all agree that opioid addiction is a major problem in our region, and we have a responsibility to address it," Levine said in a news release. "The not-for-profit addiction treatment center ... is an important component of a much larger vision to help reduce the addiction that is plaguing our region."