ALPENA — One of the applicants for a medical marijuana provisioning center in Alpena has sued the city, accusing officials of violating the Michigan Open Meetings Act and failing to follow the city’s own rules in deciding who could open such businesses.

Bob Currier, of Neighborhood Provisions, Currier LLC, and Katherine Schultz, a personal friend of the Currier family, filed the lawsuit against City Manager Rachel Smolinski, Building Official Don Gilmet, and Northeast Michigan Council of Governments Deputy Director Denise Clines, all of whom were involved in the application scoring.

In court documents obtained by The News on Tuesday, the plaintiffs claim the city violated Michigan’s Open Meetings Act when a committee reviewed and scored the licensing applications because that wasn’t done in an open meeting. The filings also claim the city allowed several applicants to pay deposits after the deadline for payments had passed.

The plaintiffs ask the court to halt the licensure process and to have applications they believe are invalid tossed out, and theirs moved up.

They also seek an unspecified amount of money for damages and payment of attorney fees.

City Attorney Bill Pfeifer did not respond to messages seeking comment on Tuesday.

Currier’s attorney, Sean Gallagher, said he can’t comment on the case.

The Alpena Municipal Council approved applications from Lume Cannabis Co., of Troy, and Green Buddha Cannabis Co., of Ferndale. Six businesses applied for licenses, including Currier.

Some of the sticking points on Currier’s application were whether Currier would use an existing building or build a new structure, what the business would invest, and what it would do to eliminate and prevent blight near the store.

There were also questions about what the business would pay employees and whether they would meet the requirements in the city ordinance.

According to the court documents, the Curriers believe the city may have played favorites and allowed preferred companies to skirt the rules. Not only were a pair of payments accepted after the application was received, but one of the applicants was allowed more time for an appeal than what the ordinance demands, the lawsuit alleges.

Currier decided to take legal action after he felt the city didn’t score his business’s application correctly and an appeal to Alpena Municipal Council was unsuccessful.

A longtime resident and business owner in the city, Currier stressed that he holds no hard feelings against anyone with the city.

“Zero,” he said. “I lived here a long time and I have the utmost respect for everyone with the city.”

Lume Cannabis intends to construct a facility on vacant property on Chisholm Street, across from the Cracker Barrel Party Store, while Green Buddha plans to renovate the former Thunder Bay River Restaurant, also on Chisholm Street.

The applicants are now required to submit site plans for special land use to the city Planning Commission and apply for building permits.

If Currier’s request for a court injunction is successful, the entire process would likely come to a complete halt, and next steps would be decided by the court.

A hearing is set for 1:15 p.m.Wednesday in Alpena County Circuit Court.

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