Board of Commissioners cuts number of cannabis business licenses included in county ordinance

Kirsten Wisniewski | August 29, 2024

After weeks of public commentary, town hall meetings, and conversation among the commissioners, at the Aug. 27 meeting the Cook County Board of Commissioners opted to adjust the number of licenses allowed in the proposed cannabis business ordinance.

Moving forward on the cannabis business ordinance

The original draft of the ordinance would have allowed for the county to issue 14 licenses, spread out evenly across seven geographical areas of the county. County Attorney Molly Hicken explained that this was designed to parallel the way that licenses for liquor sales are issued. She added that including two businesses per area would allow for several types of businesses that all fall under the retail umbrella.

At the most recent meeting, however, the commissioners decided that starting with fewer licenses would allow the county to maintain more control of the cannabis sales in the county. They reduced the number of licenses allowed in the ordinance to seven, one per geographical region. Because the commissioners opted to make a substantive chance to the ordinance, an additional public hearing will be held on Sep. 24. County Administrator James Joerke told WTIP that he expects the commissioners to vote to enact the ordinance after that hearing.

During the Aug. 27 meeting the commissioners also expressed concern about the chance that business owners from outside Minnesota might end up acquiring the licenses available for the area. The state Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) has released early data on where applications for licensing pre-approval have come from, and it showed a high number of applicants from out-of-state. In speaking with WTIP, Joerke said, “We are hoping that we do have local business owners who are able to establish themselves as retailers in this space, but we really don’t have any say as a county on who gets those licenses.”

2025 Budget

As the commissioners continue to fine-tune the cannabis ordinance, they are also working on finishing a draft of the 2025 budget. The draft will also include setting the preliminary levy. Joerke said that the draft budget will be made available to the public on Sep. 10, and should include the rollout of ClearGov software, which aims to help constituents navigate and understand budget information. He said that the goal is for Cook County residents to be able to easily access information about how their tax dollars are being spent.

Joerke reminded listeners that the preliminary levy is just a starting off point, and that the initial amount won’t go up. As the budget is finalized, the goal will be adjust the levy to a sustainable level. He said, “Our goal has been over the last few years, to keep the levy increases in the neighborhood of four and a half to 5% in order to avoid digging a hole that we then later have to dig out of. And so we’re really trying to avoid that, and trying to make sure that any increases are small and happen on a regular basis, so that we’re not in a position of having to implement double digit levy increases.”

Capital Improvement Plan

The county has been making progress on the CIP, with roofing work happening on several county buildings. Beyond addressing deferred maintenance needs, the CIP also aims to meet space and safety needs identified by the county. After the board decided not to move forward with a judicial center plan, the focus has shifted to renovating and adding on to existing space. The county has been working the BKV Group to develop a master plan, and Joerke said that it will be presented to the board on Sep. 24. It will also be available at that time for the public to view. Joerke said that a master plan is based on concepts, and is not an architectural plan. Before the board officially adopts any design there will be time for public feedback.

ATV use on the CJ Ramstad North Shore State Trail

One additional agenda item that garnered a lot of public comments was a recommendation from the Cook County Parks and Trails Commissioner for the board to request a change to the CJ Ramstad North Shore State Trail. The request would go to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and would amend the master plan written for the trail in order to include ATV and OHV use on the trail. At this time, the trail is used for hiking, mountain biking, equestrian activities, and winter snowmobiling.

During the public comment period, several commissioners shared written statements from constituents who opposed the inclusion of ATVs and OHVs on the trail. They raised concerns about noise and environmental impact, as well as whether the motorized activities would deter current trail users from future use.

After a robust discussion, the board voted 3-2 to make the request. Commissioners Ann Sullivan and Ginny Storlie voted against it, saying that they would like more information, including statements from current trail users, before voting.

The decision to make the request, however, does not change anything in the immediate future. Joerke said, “This is not the board saying, yes, we want this trail to go in. It was the board saying, we want this issue explored. We want to do an assessment to determine what the impacts would be if ATVs and off highway vehicles were allowed on these trails.” He added that before making any changes to the master plan, the MN DNR would conduct an environmental assessment. There would also be more opportunities for the public to weigh in before further decisions were made.

Any changes to the trail will be slow to come. Joerke said, “With federal involvement in this is not going to happen super fast, because there are lengthy processes that that the Forest Service would need to undertake to to complete an assessment. And so really, this is just the beginning of a discussion.”

WTIP’s Kirsten Wisniewski spoke with County Administrator James Joerke about the Aug. 27 meeting. Audio of that interview is below.