Massachusetts
SOUTH DEERFIELD — Local officials want to make sure the town makes money off of marijuana, sufficiently educates its kids and complies with the new state laws without moving too slowly that it misses an opportunity to have any marijuana business in town.
This is what in part is prompting the Selectboard to hold a special meeting today, Aug. 1, to go over the specifics as it crafts a master host agreement for businesses wanting to run a cultivation pot site.
This is just a slice of the process required by the state to allow this kind of operation in town, but for the two prospective businesses — Arizona-based Harvest Inc., run by Joe Kachuroi, and Deerfield Naturals, LCC, run by Deerfield businessman Mark Valone — it’s not the key piece they’re seeking.
The essential piece for both businesses is retail, but the town, based on its zoning bylaws, can only support one retail marijuana shop. This sets the scene for a tough decision for the Selectboard.
Although the host agreements for cultivation and retail are separate forms and processes, it’s likely an all-or-none deal for either one of the two businesses.
That’s made for a careful and somewhat cumbersome process for the town, especially one that has to primarily be discussed in public meeting, to the frustrations of the board.
“This board doesn’t have the luxury of sitting around, talking about different things,” Selectman Henry “Kip” Komosa said during a public hearing on pot last week. “We have to do it right here. Sometimes we have to ask questions. If it seems like we’re just stumbling through it, it’s because it is new to us.”
Not being able to discuss it among each other off-mic has made it more difficult for the members to work through the process faster, Komosa said, and, in essence, has held up the businesses vying for marijuana rights. Open meeting law requires the three-person board to have dialogue amongst members in front of the public.
Town Administrator Wendy Foxmyn had reached out to the state’s Cannabis Control Commission looking for help, as she tries to guide the board. In an email sent about a month ago, she wrote the state: “WE are the boots on the ground and are scrambling to implement your regulations. I know you are scrambling, as well.”
Selectboard members know that time is of the essence. Host agreements for cultivation might be ready to go by its Aug. 8 meeting, or at the least, the board might have a working draft.
“I think it’s very important to move ahead, and commit, because we’re just dragging our feet and people obviously have interests,” the Selectboard’s Carolyn Shores Ness said about cultivation host agreements toward the end of the second public hearing last week with Valone. “We should be able to look at all of these examples and compile everything we want.”
She added that it’s “not fair to hold it up,” and that the town needs to be cognizant of its farmers and business people who are trying to move forward on the industry.
A possible additional complication for Deerfield could involve neighboring Whately. Harvest Inc. has proposed running its pot shop just next door, but across the town line at the Sugarloaf Shops.
As yet, whether this is an issue isn’t known. But it could be another component to Deerfield’s plans, where they don’t want to be left holding an empty revenue bag when it comes to this cash crop.
You can reach Joshua Solomon at:
413-772-0261, ext. 264