The General
New Member
Massachusetts - The City Council learned a bit more Thursday night about one of the applicants that is proposing to open a medical marijuana dispensary in the city. Attorney James F. Connors, speaking on behalf of Fitchburg-based Bryn Coron Farms Herbal Remedies Inc., a Phase 2 applicant looking to acquire a state license to become a registered marijuana dispensary, said the notification of the City Council, as well as the Board of Health and the chief of police, are required in this phase of the application process.
Connors represents Jacqueline and Christopher Walton, owners of the nonprofit corporation, who are seeking to grow marijuana on their Hudson property and sell it in Fitchburg for medical purposes to the more than 16,000 patients in the region with qualifying conditions, including glaucoma, cancer, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis, among many others.
According to information Connors supplied to the council, the Waltons were previously corporate officers and directors of Chase-Walton Elastomers, Inc., founded in 1955 in Hudson, developing and manufacturing polymer components in silicone for the aerospace, medical and biotech industries, with annual sales of about $15.3 million, before the company was sold in 2005 to the Swedish conglomerate Trelleborg Sealing Solutions.
Trelleborg continued to manufacture medical and biotech products at the Chase-Walton facility until January of this year. Since then, the Waltons have invested more than $200,000 in upgrades to their 58,000-square-foot facility, valued at $2 million, and intend to invest up to another $750,000 in equipment and staff for the cultivation and dispensary sites, all privately funded. Connors said the upfront cost for the Waltons for this endeavor totals about $1 million, including a $30,000 nonrefundable application fee to the state. He said only 35 licenses will be granted throughout the state, and carry a $50,000 annual fee to maintain. If the license is approved, Connors said the Waltons expect to employ about 50 people, 10 of whom would work at the dispensary in Fitchburg and the remainder at the cultivation site in Hudson.
He said the facility would be clean and secure, and that clients would need a medical certificate to procure marijuana. Connors said the demographics of medical marijuana dispensary clients are significantly different than those of the methadone clinics the city is accustomed to, and that their annual income is around $50,000 each. "It's an entirely different group of people that would be accessing this service," he said.
Connors described Thursday's presentation as a "meet and greet," and councilors chose to not ask any questions. "At some point I have to come back and ask if you are either diametrically opposed to this or if you take no action," Connors said, adding that he must also visit the zoning board to determine potential locations for the proposed facility. In other business, the council approved funding a newly created economic development director position for the remainder of the fiscal year with free cash.
The council approved the $45,000 spending request from Mayor Lisa Wong in a 9-1 vote, with Finance Chairman Marcus DiNatale in opposition. DiNatale said he is supportive of the position and agrees it is necessary in the city, but that he disagrees with how to fund it. He said the full-time position, as a recurring expense, should be funded in the budget and not with one-time reserves, and believes the council should have waited until the fiscal 2015 budget process to fund it.
Councilor-at-Large Stephan Hay said he believed the position should be a contracted service rather than a city employee, in order to avoid adding to the city's pension, health care and retiree benefit liabilities. Ward 3 councilor Joel Kaddy balked at recommendations to put off the vote on the matter, saying that it is critical to the city's economic future and that waiting any longer only means missed opportunities. "I'm sick to my stomach, we don't go forward. We need to do something in this city, we really need to do something," he said. "No one's coming to us, we've got to get ourselves out there, we've got to market the city. ... We've got to take a chance on this. Where are we going if we don't?" The position, which has been absent from the city in recent years, was recently reinstated with a favorable vote on Councilor-at-Large Dean Tran's petition to bring it back. A hire has not yet been made.
News Hawk - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Sentinelandenterprise.com
Author: Alana Melanson
Contact: Contact us - Sentinel & Enterprise
Website: Fitchburg council reviews medical-marijuana pitch - Sentinel & Enterprise
Connors represents Jacqueline and Christopher Walton, owners of the nonprofit corporation, who are seeking to grow marijuana on their Hudson property and sell it in Fitchburg for medical purposes to the more than 16,000 patients in the region with qualifying conditions, including glaucoma, cancer, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis, among many others.
According to information Connors supplied to the council, the Waltons were previously corporate officers and directors of Chase-Walton Elastomers, Inc., founded in 1955 in Hudson, developing and manufacturing polymer components in silicone for the aerospace, medical and biotech industries, with annual sales of about $15.3 million, before the company was sold in 2005 to the Swedish conglomerate Trelleborg Sealing Solutions.
Trelleborg continued to manufacture medical and biotech products at the Chase-Walton facility until January of this year. Since then, the Waltons have invested more than $200,000 in upgrades to their 58,000-square-foot facility, valued at $2 million, and intend to invest up to another $750,000 in equipment and staff for the cultivation and dispensary sites, all privately funded. Connors said the upfront cost for the Waltons for this endeavor totals about $1 million, including a $30,000 nonrefundable application fee to the state. He said only 35 licenses will be granted throughout the state, and carry a $50,000 annual fee to maintain. If the license is approved, Connors said the Waltons expect to employ about 50 people, 10 of whom would work at the dispensary in Fitchburg and the remainder at the cultivation site in Hudson.
He said the facility would be clean and secure, and that clients would need a medical certificate to procure marijuana. Connors said the demographics of medical marijuana dispensary clients are significantly different than those of the methadone clinics the city is accustomed to, and that their annual income is around $50,000 each. "It's an entirely different group of people that would be accessing this service," he said.
Connors described Thursday's presentation as a "meet and greet," and councilors chose to not ask any questions. "At some point I have to come back and ask if you are either diametrically opposed to this or if you take no action," Connors said, adding that he must also visit the zoning board to determine potential locations for the proposed facility. In other business, the council approved funding a newly created economic development director position for the remainder of the fiscal year with free cash.
The council approved the $45,000 spending request from Mayor Lisa Wong in a 9-1 vote, with Finance Chairman Marcus DiNatale in opposition. DiNatale said he is supportive of the position and agrees it is necessary in the city, but that he disagrees with how to fund it. He said the full-time position, as a recurring expense, should be funded in the budget and not with one-time reserves, and believes the council should have waited until the fiscal 2015 budget process to fund it.
Councilor-at-Large Stephan Hay said he believed the position should be a contracted service rather than a city employee, in order to avoid adding to the city's pension, health care and retiree benefit liabilities. Ward 3 councilor Joel Kaddy balked at recommendations to put off the vote on the matter, saying that it is critical to the city's economic future and that waiting any longer only means missed opportunities. "I'm sick to my stomach, we don't go forward. We need to do something in this city, we really need to do something," he said. "No one's coming to us, we've got to get ourselves out there, we've got to market the city. ... We've got to take a chance on this. Where are we going if we don't?" The position, which has been absent from the city in recent years, was recently reinstated with a favorable vote on Councilor-at-Large Dean Tran's petition to bring it back. A hire has not yet been made.
News Hawk - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Sentinelandenterprise.com
Author: Alana Melanson
Contact: Contact us - Sentinel & Enterprise
Website: Fitchburg council reviews medical-marijuana pitch - Sentinel & Enterprise
