Sumpter Twp. board votes, 5-2, to opt out of MMFLA

The Sumpter Township Board of Trustees voted 5-2 to opt out of the Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act (MMFLA) that would allow medical marijuana businesses in the township.
This was at the regular board meeting with a large crowd on Feb. 13. Before board members opted out, they voted down, with the same 5-2 vote, the final item on their agenda, which was a proposal to opt into the MMFLA with 23 facilities in the Industrial, Agricultural, and Commercial zonings.
The two in favor of MMFLA in both votes were Treasurer Peggy Morgan and Trustee Sheena Barnes.
During the public comment on agenda items only at the beginning of the meeting, Supervisor John Morgan invited the crowd to speak out on the MMFLA question and 11 did.
Mary Ban, long an opponent of MMFLA for Sumpter and against marijuana use, said MMFLA would not enhance the business environment. She asked for common sense and to be like Belleville and Van Buren Township who have opted out. She said she felt the whole issue was “under the radar” because many people she talked to didn’t know this decision was being made.
Supervisor John Morgan said each board member had at least three weeks to go over the data from the fact-finding committee that had been meeting since November. He cautioned speakers that no one knows what Sumpter’s decision will be because the vote on the MMFLA is at the end of the meeting.
Ban complained that the committee gave no numbers on the cost to the township. She said federal law considers marijuana a controlled substance and, if approved, they could have federal prosecutors in Sumpter.
Trustee Matthew Oddy, who chaired the fact-finding committee, said there was no dollar amount given, but additional personnel would be needed.
Richard Harris said the proposal doesn’t add up to him because it doesn’t benefit the majority of the residents. He asked the board not to opt in.
Mary Herring said she was under the understanding that MMFLA was proposed in the Industrial and Agricultural corridors. Now Commercial is added. How did that happen, she wanted to know.
Trustee Oddy said during the discussions at the committee only Agricultural and Industrial were discussed, no Commercial.
“That’s the way it was put on the agenda,” he said of the addition of Commercial.
Treasurer Peggy Morgan said she was the one who put this on the agenda. She said the only reason she did was because there was not that much Industrial in the heart of the township and Commercial would be for the provisionary centers to sell to the patients.
She said Trustee Barnes was still studying the issue and she suggested the Commercial zoning.
Herring said that means it would be at corners at Bemis, Willis, Willow, and Oakville Waltz. “I don’t want it down there,” she said.
Kitty Cumberledge asked where users get marijuana now and Trustee Barnes said they get it from a dispensary or a personal care giver. Supervisor Morgan said there is no shortage of dispensaries in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and Romulus.
Brian Fennick, an attorney, said he assisted Ann Arbor with their language and he would be glad to help Sumpter. He said they are considering not capping the number of plants. He said the state is very close to a vote on recreational marijuana. He suggested the township consider processing at the cultivation site. That had not been considered in the proposal.
John Fraser, an Okemos attorney, said he has clients who want to apply for licenses. He provided information on MMFLA.
Kurt Nofz said he would hire local and wants multiple licenses.
Kathy Paige said she doesn’t want Sumpter to step in this direction.
Steven Edwards said as soon as recreational marijuana comes this will blow up. “We had the opportunity to go forward and all we gave our kids was a dump,” Edwards said, considering the board might not opt in.
Linda LeBlanc said, “I don’t want marijuana in my back yard.”
During the Board Response part of the meeting, which came slightly later on the agenda, Treasurer Morgan said she had a lengthy response.
“I am disappointed with the facts or lack of facts presented by the fact-finding committee,” she began. She said Ken Bednark, who prepared the report on what the people think by compiling their letters, emails, and public comments, just gave his opinions and no facts. She said Bednark suggested people don’t want Sumpter to opt in and the board members could be led to believe it and come to the conclusion to opt out.
She said at a fact-finding committee meeting Trustee Barnes questioned Bednark on having no facts and an argument broke out, but the chairman controlled the meeting.
Treasurer Morgan said she personally did a study of the public’s opinions, noting 172 people attended the committee meetings and she figured out, counting each person just once, that three spoke against opting in and 11 spoke against opting out. She said there were 13 total letters with 10 asking to opt out (one with 12 signatures) and three asking to opt in. There were two emails, one asking to opt in and one asking to opt out. There were 26 total. At the final meeting of the committee, there were 41 people there, with 3/4ths of the crowd appearing to want to opt in and 1/4 wanting to opt out.
Treasurer Morgan then asked for people in the audience to raise their hands, first if they wanted to opt out and then for opting in.
She then went over the committee report in detail, noting that Trustee Barnes was tasked with determining how many facilities Sumpter should have if it opted in and she found the facts. Treasurer Morgan said Barnes cancelled a trip out of state to be here and spent $1,600 out of her own pocket. She went to seminars and did many things in gathering the information, Treasurer Morgan said.
Treasurer Morgan said she decided to have her deputy send out emails to 22 townships who have opted in in the state, but then the deputy’s email went down. But she was able to get two back and Bangor Township said it made a quarter of a million dollars so far and it has 14,000 residents.
Trustee Oddy agreed that Barnes’ report “was fantastic,” but Bednark was not present to defend himself. He said Bednark’s report appeared to be opinions because they were the opinions that people sent in.
After the votes were taken, township attorney Rob Young was directed to prepare an official resolution for opting out for the next board meeting.
Harris suggested the board reimburse Trustee Barnes for her expenses in carrying out her township duties and Supervisor Morgan replied, “We have rules on how we spend our funds.”
At the end of the meeting, Herring said some residents said they were afraid for their physical well-being and that’s why they didn’t attend that night’s meeting.
“Now what are we going to bring in?” Edwards asked.
In other business at the Feb. 13 meeting, the board:
• Approved installation of a new furnace in the senior center offices at a price of $4,380;
• Approved raising water/sewer rates by 13% as recommended by auditor Ron Traskos. Also, Republic rubbish pick up will go from $23.50 to $27;
• Approved moving the polling location #5 from Bessie Hoffman School to the community center activity room at 23501 Sumpter Road because Lincoln has closed the school and it is not suitable for a polling location;
• Approved the contract for I.T. Right to start service on April 1 as computer technology provider for the Sumpter Township Hall, senior center and fire department;
• Approved hiring Sonya Ingle as a fire fighter, contingent upon her successful completion of the required physical and drug screening;
• After a two-minute public hearing, approved Community Development Block Grant allocations for 2018. Of the $73,044 expected, $44,783 will be for senior center improvements, $10,957 for senior services, $7,304 for administration, and $10,000 for demolition of unsafe buildings; and
• Heard attorney Young give a report on the consent order in the Nelson Po case and how Po’s funds that had been frozen at Chase and Bank of America were released and distributed. A detailed, written version of the report was distributed to board members, but not made available to the Independent.