County Board holds off on decisions about Cannabis Business Ordinance
After a week of collecting public feedback on the proposed cannabis business ordinance, the Cook County Board of Commissioners opted to wait on approval at the group’s the Aug. 13 meeting. Only four of the commissioners were present for the meeting, and they opted to wait to make a decision on this ordinance, as well as another agenda item, until all members of the board were present.
Cannabis business ordinance
The public hearing on the ordinance opened on Aug. 6, and will remain open until the board closes it, likely at their next business meeting on Aug. 27. Two public hearing meeting were held at the Cook County Courthouse, and there were townhall meetings at the Colvill townhall (Aug. 5) and the Arrowhead Center for the Arts (Aug. 12). The county has also been collecting written feedback through an online form and through a voicemail line. According to Cook County Administrator James Joerke, the majority of the public feedback that included concerns focused on the number of businesses that the ordinance would allow, and the penalties for juvenile possession or use.
The board meeting agenda packet included the feedback that the county has received, and while some residents raised questions or concerns, others expressed support for the ordinance. During the Aug. 13 meeting, the board members in attendance weighed the public comments, and ultimately decided that they did not want to make changes or approve the ordinance without all of the commissioners present. Commissioner Stacey Johnson’s absence from the meeting was excused.
While tabling the vote means delaying action, the commissioners expressed during the meeting that they wanted to proceed in an intentional way, and give full consideration to all aspects of the ordinance. Joerke told WTIP, “We’re trying to collect as much feedback as we can. We want this ordinance to reflect the interest and needs of the community, and I appreciate the fact that the board wanted all five commissioners to be present for this discussion.”
Memorandum of Agreement between UMN Extension and Cook County
The other agenda item that the board opted to delay voting on was an approving a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the county and the University of Minnesota Extension. Joerke explained that three years ago the Community Center Director position was made an Extension Educator role. This meant that it shifted from being exclusively a county job to a dual county and UMN position. Joerke said that, so far, working with UMN Extension has been going well. He said, “They recognize that Cook County is unique in terms of the position. It’s not purely an extension educator position. It also has Community Center responsibilities, and they’ve been really amenable to to maintaining that, and I think it’s worked out really well.”
During public comment and in communications with commissioners, however, there have been mixed reviews from residents. Because of this, the Joerke said, “The the tabling of that item at the meeting on Tuesday was really again to make sure that all five commissioners were able to participate in the discussion. Commissioner Stacy Johnson sits on the community center board and also the extension board, and so the other commissioners felt that it was important for her to bring that perspective to discussions about the MOA.”
Both the UMN Extension MOA and the cannabis business ordinance should appear on the agenda for the board’s next regular business meeting. At least for the cannabis ordinance, the commissioners agreed, however, that in the event that all five are not present on Aug. 27, they would still hold a vote in the interest of keeping up with the state’s licensing process for cannabis businesses.
WTIP’s Kirsten Wisniewski spoke with Administrator James Joerke about the tabled agenda items, as well as several other county jobs related topics. Audio of that interview is below.
Kirsten Wisniewski August 16, 2024
