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WATERVILLE COUNCIL

Moratorium on marijuana up for vote tonight

By Amy Calder acalder@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

WATERVILLE -- City councilors tonight will decide whether to place a six-month moratorium on considering applications for marijuana-related facilities in the city.

click image to enlarge

Beverly and Andrew Busque picket outside the former KFC restaurant in Waterville on July 15. The site is where a proposed medical marijuana dispensary may be located. Beverly Busque said she approves of medical marijuana but is not in favor of the site, adjacent to her property.

Staff photo by David Leaming

click image to enlarge

A worker at the San Francisco Medical Cannabis Clinic prepares packets of marijuana buds for sale in San Francisco. Legalizing the recreational use of marijuana in California would sharply drive down prices for the drug, causing more people to use pot while possibly undercutting the tax windfall that supporters have touted, according to a study.

AP

Related headlines

• California -linked group to provide medical pot in area
• Neighbors of proposed location for dispensary have some concerns

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Councilors on July 20 voted 7-0 to place a moratorium on accepting applications and issuing permits for marijuana-related facilities, including dispensaries, cultivation operations and storage buildings.

Councilors are required to take two more votes and are expected to do so tonight, according to City Manager Michael Roy. The meeting will be at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at The Center downtown.

A moratorium would give city officials time to determine what zones, if any, would be suitable for marijuana facilities; they also could develop standards for such facilities.

Roy said there are two schools of thought regarding whether municipalities must provide areas for such facilities.

"Maine Municipal Association is taking the view that, no, you really can't prohibit them from being some place, much like pornography -- you can restrict it from certain zones, but you can't prohibit it. The other school of thought is, using marijuana is illegal under federal law, which gives you the power to prohibit it from happening any place in the city."

Northeast Patients Group, based in Augusta, has cited the former KFC building on Water Street as a possible place to develop a medical marijuana dispensary.

The building is located across Water Street from the Hathaway Creative Center, which houses offices for MaineGeneral Health, as well as businesses and apartments.

Council Chairman Dana Sennett, D-Ward 4, said he expects the council will take final votes tonight on the moratorium.

"I believe that the entire council is on board about the moratorium on the medical marijuana outlet in the city of Waterville," he said. "We definitely don't want to see the facility down on Water Street and we would like to be able to take a careful look at where we'd like to allow those to go, rather than somebody just popping in where they feel that they can get a good price on a rental property."

In other matters, councilors will consider appointing a committee to study the needs of the Police Department and identify options for a new or renovated police station.

An attachment to the council agenda says the Police Department has occupied the basement of City Hall for about 40 years and the space was not designed as a police station when the building was constructed in 1902.

The committee would review prior studies and reports about the need for a new police station, examine the department's space requirements and determine where, if any, deficiencies exist. The panel, which would serve in an advisory capacity only, also would discuss options for renovating, expanding or building new, and evaluating the costs, both short and long term, of all the options.

The committee's goal would be to report to the council by Nov. 1 on its findings; the council would make the final decision about what action to take.

Councilors also will consider:

* Approving an agreement that would allow Waterville Development Corp. to act as the city's agent in marketing, selling and developing property at Head of Falls.

* Authorizing the City Solicitor to investigate whether it is possible for the city to assume administration of the Waterville Sewerage District.

* Awarding a contract for winter road salt.

* Awarding a contract to buy, mostly with grant money, a 2011 Ford Crown Victoria police cruiser to replace a 2003 cruiser that would be traded in as part of the purchase.

Amy Calder -- 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com