Trending
MADISON TOWNSHIP -- Madison Township trustees unanimously voted to rescind a resolution banning medical marijuana businesses in the township during their meeting Wednesday.
The trustees voted in favor of a new resolution permitting one medical marijuana cultivating business in the township. The new resolution allows for only one medical marijuana cultivating facility in the township.
Madison Township resident Dave Rice applied to the trustees to reconsider the ban so he and his wife Ashley could apply for a medical marijuana cultivation license. The business is under an LLC named Charlie Bear, after the family's farm dog.
The Rices, if approved by the state and granted a license, plan to open a 3,000-square-foot cultivation facility.
According to Rice, he has not yet applied for the license due to the moratorium on the medical marijuana business in the township and licenses are expensive to apply for. They range based on square footage of business from $20,000 to $250,000 annually and he didn't want to spend that kind of money if the township was not going to remove the moratorium.
"The next thing I am going to do is apply for the license, but there are a lot of things that have to happen for that," Rice said. "We already have most of it together, all the architectural stuff, all the security stuff and the air movement stuff."
Rice said he plans to apply only for a cultivational license, not a dispensary license, meaning he can only grow the medical marijuana, not sell it for public consumption. Rice also noted that the business would focus solely on medical marijuana regardless of how the recreational marijuana issue for the state goes in the election.
Rice and his wife both work in the medical industry and decided to go into medical marijuana cultivation because he said he feels it's beneficial in the medical industry.
Rice said he doesn't expect to hear about the approval for his license until June.
Other business discussed during the meeting included discussions on the development of a chip and seal plan for the township for next year, discussion on interviews for the zoning board and discussion on the appointment of a township member to the County 9-1-1 Review Committee.
The trustees are planning to bring everyone in who applied for the zoning board over a two-day period for interviews. Interview dates have not been determined yet.
The trustees, with Wayne Chamberlain abstaining, voted to nominate Chamberlain to the 9-1-1 Review Committee.
A resolution was adopted to place a wanted ad for a new township employee.
The payment of bills totaling $18,286.14 and five purchase orders was approved.
The Madison Township trustees meet the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. at the township lot located at 13011 state Route 45. The next regular meeting is scheduled for Nov. 8.
kgarabrandt@mojonewsnews.com