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‘We are a voice of the people’

Alpena Twp becomes largest in area moving to opt out of pot law

ALPENA TOWNSHIP — The Alpena Township Board of Trustees took a cue from its voters and have begun the process of adopting an ordinance banning recreational marijuana businesses from opening and operating in the township.

The 5-0 vote took place at the monthly board meeting Monday.

Proposal 1, which allows for the legal use and sale of recreational marijuana, may have passed statewide in November, but Alpena Township residents were less than enthusiastic about having the drug available over the counter. The final vote tally in the township was 2,342 against legalization and 2,015 for, and that factored into the decision-making process of the trustees.

Proposal 1 allows municipalities an opportunity to “opt out” of the law, and township trustees decided Monday to follow suit with other municipalities in the area and not allow the sale of the drug.

Marijuana is still considered a Schedule I controlled substance by the federal government, a fact that has also raised concerns among local governing bodies.

Township Supervisor Nathan Skibbe said the bottom line is voters in the township made it clear what they thought of Proposal 1, and he is ready to adhere to their wishes.

“We are a voice of the people, and the residents of Alpena Township voted against recreational marijuana, and I believe we need to hold true to those beliefs and move forward with opting out,” he said.

Although it is now legal to use and possess marijuana, it will be some time before dispenseraries will be open and selling the drug for recreational use anywhere in the state. The State of Michigan figures it could take until 2020 for licenses to be issued and business owners to open their doors.

Township attorney Tim Gulden said the township, should it opt out now, could reverse course and opt back in later. He said that right now, however, there are a lot of blurred lines in the law.

“A lot of municipalities are opting out at this stage,” Gulden said. “Right now, there is a lot of uncertainty, and the state will be doing a lot of work and we’ll be receiving more information as it moves forward.”

By opting out, the township will forgo a portion of the tax revenue generated by the sale of the drug. Municipalities that allow recreational pot businesses will receive additional funding from the state, but that amount has yet to be determined.

There are some who will not be pleased that the board strayed from a portion of the new law, but there is a way for people to undo the board’s vote.

If a person or group were to get enough signatures on a petition, the matter could be placed back on the ballot in Alpena Township. If it passes, the township board’s vote would be nullified.

According to the law, such a petition would require a number of valid signatures equal to a minimum of 10 percent of the total number of votes cast during the prior gubernatorial election. In Alpena Township, that equates to at least 436 registered voters needing to sign the petition.

Gulden said the new ordinance needs to be published and a vote could be made to adopt it at the board’s January meeting.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpeanews.com.

In other business

The Alpena Township Board of Trustees on Monday also:

∫ discussed holding a pair of monthly meetings instead of one. A vote on that issue could come at its next meeting.

∫ began the process of adopting a new ordinance that would address blight issues in the township and grant the building inspector more tools to address the issue.

∫ voted to allow the Department of Public Works and the fire department to get fleet cards for fuel purchases. Use of the cards will save the township money and allow it to track the cards’ usage with great detail.

∫ heard from seven residents who gave public comment encouraging the board to work toward a solution with the City of Alpena on the ongoing dispute over water and sewer rates. The two municipalities have been at odds over rates and in litigation for nearly five years.

The township is also in the process of holding a public forum to address the water and sewer issue, as well as answer questions. A date for the forum has not been set.

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