Every now and then i like to include a story like this to remind us all where the action really happens…
The Red Wing City Council is looking to the recreational cannabis industry to potentially diversify city revenue.
Council President Kim Beise is putting together an ad hoc committee to study the topic after most councilors were supportive of researching the city’s options on April 22.
The ad hoc committee is slated to research a cannabis dispensary, the financial impact it could have for the city and discuss whether operating a dispensary is in the city’s best interests, said Marshall Hallock, the city’s administrative business director.
With the state’s licensing structure coming together and more cannabis legislation coming, Red Wing is at a point where “significant decisions” are needed on city policies regulating cannabis, Hallock told the city council.
“The city council needs to decide how the city should approach this issue,” Hallock said.
In addition to potentially adding to city revenues to decrease its reliance on property taxes, a municipal cannabis dispensary may enhance community safety by creating a strict regulatory process in Red Wing, according to Hallock.
Several city councilors met with the Prairie Island Indian Community’s Cannabis Regulation Commission earlier in April to discuss opportunities to collaborate. PIIC is working on its own cannabis dispensary, Island Peži, which is slated to open this summer. Red Wing could also open and operate a city-owned cannabis dispensary, Hallock said.
Councilors Vicki Jo Lambert, Janie Farrar and Becky Norton supported the idea of a committee researching a municipal cannabis dispensary and providing the council with factual information on what other cities are doing with cannabis. Beise agreed, saying, “We’re just looking at options.”
The city council has had lengthy conversations about alternative revenue sources, and the city needs to consider the feasibility of a city-owned cannabis dispensary before nixing the idea, Norton said. She pointed out that cities are already business owners with a couple hundred municipal liquor stores in Minnesota.
“While this one’s different, a lot of the hurdles have already been overcome just by these municipal liquor stores,” she said.
Councilor Ron Goggin opposed the ad hoc committee, saying he was against “the whole thing.”
Councilor Don Kliewer said the city should wait to see what happens with current cannabis legislation because there’s still a lot of unknowns.
Councilor Evan Brown was absent from the April 22 meeting.
The state Office of Cannabis Management isn’t expected to begin issuing licenses until 2025 and the Legislature is still working on changes. However, the House passed its cannabis omnibus bill, HF 4757, last week that would allow cities and counties to be automatically approved for a dispensary license without entering the lottery. Their licenses also won’t count against the license cap. The Senate has yet to approve its companion cannabis omnibus bill, SF 4782.
A city can’t ban cannabis businesses, but the licenses are capped at one per 12,500 residents.
