Bad Axe gets more inquires about marijuana facilities

The three buildings in question are the former Pepper’s Restaurant on North Van Dyke Road, a former laundromat at the corner of Huron Avenue and Buffalo Street, and the former Thumb Industries building along Sand Beach Road. The inquiries were about turning the former restaurant and laundromat into recreational dispensaries while the former Thumb Industries building was proposed as a growing site.

Rothe said that when the city first voted against allowing marijuana businesses, he felt that was the right decision due to security and legal issues of the time. Since then, the former laundromat building’s owner has contacted the council every year asking it to reconsider.

“In my opinion, a lot of the problems that were around five to six years ago are not around anymore,” Rothe said. “I think eventually, one’s going to be in Bad Axe. Whether its next year, three years, five years has yet to be determined. Now it’s no different than going into a liquor store and picking out a bottle of liquor. You go into a weed store and pick out an herb.”

Stiverson said the city’s ordinances currently do not allow any marijuana business in town, medical or recreational. The city could charge licensing fees and benefit from revenue sharing with the state from the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act. For the 2020 fiscal year, the state distributed $28,000 for each eligible municipality for every licensed store or microbusiness in their jurisdiction.

Stiverson said the council in the past has been hesitant to allow marijuana businesses in town, as the council voted to ban marijuana dispensaries, growing facilities and transportation facilities in the city limits in January 2019 and voted against changing it twice since.

He noted that in a questionnaire mailed out to Bad Axe residents for input on the city’s master plan, less than a third of residents had a positive response to the idea of a marijuana business in the city, with them not considering it a priority.

“It was the only spot on the survey that had people writing down, ‘You better say no to this,’” Stiverson said. “There is a group of people opposed to seeing it in town.”

Rothe offered himself and incoming Police Chief Shawn Webber to do further research into the topic, speak with dispensaries, jurisdictions where they are present, speak with the state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, and put together a presentation at a future meeting on the pros and cons of having such businesses in the city. After that, the council can make an informed decision.

The council voted 5-2 for Rothe and Webber to do this research, with members Richard Peterson and Clark McKimmy voting against. Rothe said he will get to work on it as soon as Webber returns from new chief school.

When Michigan voters approved Proposal 1 in 2018 that legalized recreational marijuana, Huron County voters voted 8,261 to 5,479 against it, with Bad Axe voters narrowly voting against it by a 541-534 vote.

The city of Caseville was the only Huron County municipality where a majority voted yes, by a 190-179 vote. It is currently the only municipality with an ordinance that allows marijuana dispensaries while others have ordinances that allow growing it for medical purposes.

The council was also planned to further discuss approving its payment to Central Huron Ambulance for its services. Councilman Joel Harrison said the public safety committee agreed to attend Central Huron’s board meeting on Wednesday where they will discuss and approve their budget for the year.