Sumpter Marijuana Committee gets recommendation for 23 facilities

The Sumpter Township MMFLA Fact-Finding Committee met for the third time on Jan. 3 and got a recommendation from Trustee Sheena Barnes, a member of the committee, for the number of facilities the township should have if it opted into the new law. She recommends 23 facilities.
MMFLA stands for Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act, which was enacted in 2016 and presently is going into effect.
At the December meeting of the committee, Trustee Matthew Oddy, chairman of the committee, directed Trustee Barnes to come up with a recommendation for how many facilities the township should have if it opts into the MMFLA. He directed her to work with Township Supervisor John Morgan on her recommendation. While Supervisor Morgan appointed the committee, and appointed himself to the committee, he attended only the first meeting in November. The committee meets just once a month.
Chairman Oddy said the committee will not make a recommendation, but will gather information to give to the township board members so they can decide on MMFLA.
Trustee Barnes’ recommendation was the first order of business and she presented 20 slides projected on the wall for an extensive report. She began by saying she is in support of opting in to MMFLA. She said the facts she presented were obtained with the help of businesses and dispensaries in Las Vegas and Washington State. She said Washington State has a climate similar to Michigan.
Barnes’ recommendation for the number of facilities to be authorized in the township was:
• Class A growers (500 marihuana plants) – 5
• Class B growers (1,000 marihuana plants) – 5
• Class C growers (1,500 marihuana plants) – 5
• Safety Compliance Facilities – 3
• Secure Transporters – 3
• Provisioning Centers – 2
(Later Barnes explained, “I didn’t give a recommendation for Processing. Because of fire and hazard, it was not recommended for Sumpter. Safety was a big issue. The fire fighters could be put in danger with processing because the 10,000 pounds per square inch operating pressure. Not installed or designed correctly, the extractors can explode and can cause death.”)
“This just is my recommendation for Sumpter Township” and its 9,549 residents, Barnes stressed after outlining her suggestion.
She also recommended that the only growing facilities allowed should be greenhouses. She said in her fact-finding, she found climate-controlled greenhouses are less expensive to run because of being able to use sun power in the summer. They also are safer since fire is a danger because of the electrical equipment used in the grow and processing.
Barnes said with indoor grows there are often bars on the door and dogs, and the fire fighters can’t get in. She said carbon dioxide is used to get a better grow and high pressure is used for extraction of oils.
“We probably should not go with an inside grow,” she said.
“Let’s keep Sumpter Township at its finest, while keeping the fire fighters safe,” Barnes said.
She showed the Sumpter land-use master plan and pointed out the Industrial and Agriculture zoned areas, which would be the only zonings where the facilities would be allowed.
She recommended when opting in with greenhouses, the grower would need a minimum of 2 acres for 500 plants, 4 acres for 1,000 plants, and 6 acres for 1,500 plants.
Barnes listed the jobs available, that included a grow master, who could earn $100,000 and up and a percentage of the profit; store managers, $75,000 and a percentage of the profit; bud trimmers, who get $12 to $13 an hour to start, and sometimes are paid by the pound; and owners who spend a lot to set it up and wait for the turnaround.
Barnes also recommended giving training to the police department in the metric system, police requirements under the law and the rights of citizens. She said $500,000 in grant money was available to police departments for training in this industry.
“I didn’t see where any township had to spend any money,” Barnes said. “Property values do not go down. Property values go up. I’ve seen that right next door.”
Sumpter Police Chief Eric Luke said funds are coming from the overages, out to the sheriff’s departments, but not to local police now.
Resident Kurt Nofz said the use of that $500,000 entails a lot of things, including travel.
Committee member Ken Bednark said a modified greenhouse grow would be more stable throughout the year. In the summer it would be cheap to run, but when you have to heat in the winter it would be expensive.
“If growers can’t keep up with the demand, can they outsource?” Bednark asked.
Chairman Oddy said they can buy from any growers.
Township attorney Rob Young questioned Barnes about details on which he was uninformed.
She said there’s a greenhouse across the street from her home and she has studied it.
“I’m trying to cut down the chance of fire for the benefit of our community and town,” Barnes said.
As far as restricting to greenhouses, she said a lot of places in Michigan are just allowing outside grows.
A Sumpter Township fire fighter on the committee Jamie Good said for fire fighters, a greenhouse is better for safety. He said pole barn structures have insulation and fire fighters have to get on the roof to ventilate, which is dangerous.
He said a drawback to greenhouses in Michigan is heating, but there are alternative biofuels. He said plastic melts at 250 degrees and then it self-ventilates.
LARA Rules and Regulations
Next on the agenda was a report from attorney Young to update the state rules and regulations on the MMFLA. He complimented the state on its rules and regulations which go into every aspect of opting in.
“How it gets applied, we’ll see,” he said. He noted the rules are burdensome to licensees.
Chairman Oddy said he was worried that the state will have a rule and not enforce it and Young replied the licenses are issued a year at a time.
Young then jumped to another agenda item he was scheduled to address: Financial Impact Analysis. Young said it is estimated that there will be $700 million in annual sales, but if it’s more like $1 billion the first year, the 3% tax plus 25% of that going to the licensed communities, gives them $7.5 million to split. Then there would be $40,000 to $60,000 in licenses per year.
But it’s hard to know how many communities will be sharing the money. He said Detroit will have 100 facilities, Bangor 100, Pinconning 100 and 100.
Young said the 1% is $70,000 a year from the state plus $5,000 for each local license.
Bednark said with more marijuana available, prices will fall. He said street marijuana has precipitously fallen in price since medical marijuana was approved.
“With so much product, it no longer will be profitable,” he said.
During the one hour and 20 minute meeting on Jan. 3, the committee also discussed:
• Impact on the citizens and the rural setting;
• Operational impact to police services;
• Operational impact to fire services;
• Operational impact on township offices/departments;
• Local ordinances for MMFLA; and
• Findings from local communities.
The next meeting of the committee is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Jan. 10, at the township hall, when members will bring their paperwork and go over it together. The final meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Jan. 17 when everything will be put together to pass on to the township board, which will make the final decision about opting in or out of MMFLA.
It was stressed that this committee would not make a recommendation to the board, but only provide it with facts to study.
There were about two dozen members of the audience at the Jan. 3 committee meeting, many fewer than the first two meetings.
At the very beginning of the meeting, the only place Public Comment is allowed, resident Mary Herring said she remains in opposition to the MMFLA and wants Sumpter to opt out, especially on dispensaries.