News photo by Crystal Nelson Alpena Mayor Matt Waligora, far left, listens to City Attorney Bill Pfeifer, far right, during Monday’s Alpena Municipal Council meeting at City Hall.

ALPENA — The Alpena Municipal Council on Monday decided to table until March 16 a decision on how medical marijuana provisioning centers would be selected, although council members agreed they would prefer a merit-based selection process over a lottery.

The city’s proposed medical marijuana rules would only allow two medical marijuana facilities in the city, so the city needs to have a method for choosing who gets to open if it receives more than two applications.

City Planning and Development Director Adam Poll presented council members with samples of selection processes used by other municipalities in the state.

Poll said Iron Mountain uses a scoring system, for example, whereas Grand Rapids uses a hybrid system based on whether local ownership was involved and the number of employees the business would have. Traverse City and Mount Pleasant use lotteries.

Poll also provided council members with a couple of news articles that reported lawsuits had been filed because of those selection processes.

City Attorney Bill Pfeifer told council members they shouldn’t worry about lawsuits — or people threatening lawsuits — when making the decision. He said people threaten to sue all the time, but the council needs to pick what’s best for the community.

In the meantime, Poll will look into Kalkaska’s selection process.

Council members last May asked Poll and Pfeifer to begin drafting an ordinance and zoning rules allowing the sale of medical marijuana within city limits.

So far, the proposed ordinance would allow up to two provisioning centers to open in various parts of the city. Provisioning centers would not be allowed in much of downtown, though Alpena’s Downtown Development Authority recommended they should be.

The proposed ordinance also stipulates that medical marijuana cannot be sold within 250 feet of parks with playground equipment, places of worship, the Boys and Girls Club of Alpena, and treatment facilities. Per state law, provisioning centers will not be allowed within 1,000 feet of schools.

If the council agrees upon a selection process during its next meeting, it would be ready to consider the first draft of the ordinance and zoning amendment on April 6 and conduct the second reading during its April 20 meeting.

The proposed ordinance does not address the sale of recreational marijuana, which the city prohibited last year. Michigan’s new recreational marijuana law allows local governments to prohibit the sale of the drug in their borders, but communities who do so also give up a share of state taxes collected on the drug.

Crystal Nelson can be reached at 989-358-5687 or cnelson@thealpenanews.com.

In other business

The Alpena Municipal Council on Monday also:

∫ received a request from the Thunder Bay Arts Council to allocate $5,000 toward the purchase the Art Council’s sculpture, “The River Intertwined,” in its 2020-21 budget, which begins on July 1. The sculpture will be located at Washington Avenue Park and costs $45,000. The Besser Foundation has agreed to contribute $5,000.

∫ approved a resolution of support for the Friends of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary to apply for a grant to develop land around the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center to allow for recreational amenities like trail improvements, pavilions, and a kayak launch. The Michigan Economic Development Corp. will provide nearly $3.9 million, while Friends of TBNMS will provide a 10% match, or $433,038. City Planning and Development Director Adam Poll said the city’s only contribution to the project would be in-kind services.

∫ hired the Fairgrove-based Monchilov Sewer Services for $38,600 to make utility repairs that coincide with the Michigan Department of Transportation’s planned resurfacing project along portions of U.S.-23 and M-32 within the city limits this spring. The city will also pay $9,000 for staff to dig the holes for the contractor.

∫ allowed Police Chief Joel Jett to apply for a traffic safety grant that would allow the Alpena Police Department to purchase a radar speed trailer, which would notify motorists via an electronic sign how fast they were traveling. The radar speed trailer would cost $14,985 and the city would provide matching funds of $1,500, with $750 coming from the Police Department and $750 coming from the city’s engineering department.