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U <br />City Council Minutes <br />October 16, 2023 <br />Page 7 <br />The Council questioned the growing operations and whether it's done indoors or out. Mr. Carlton <br />stated it's an interior operation so everything can be controlled, such as temperature and lighting. <br />Mr. Carlton discussed retail operation locations and suggested mirroring it like the current tobacco <br />ordinance. <br />Mr. Portner stated the State Office of Cannabis Management will oversee and manage cannabis <br />licensing, but the city can restrict where licensees can be located along with the number of licenses <br />that can be issued. He noted a minimum of two licenses would be required in Elk River (one license <br />per 12,500 population). He stated it's currently unknown how the licenses are going to be distributed <br />by the state, but the law outlines that applications must be prioritized toward people who are <br />considered social equity applicants (which includes people who were convicted of possessing or <br />selling cannabis; family members of someone convicted of possessing or selling cannabis; service - <br />disabled veterans, current or former members of the national guard, or any military veteran or current <br />or former member of the national guard who lost honorable status due to an offense involving the <br />possession or sale of cannabis; residents for at least five years of a neighborhood that experienced a <br />disproportionately large amount of cannabis enforcement; emerging farmers; and residents of at least <br />five years of census tracts with high poverty rates). He further discussed the issues with cannabis not <br />being legal federally and that credit card sales are not allowed. He noted the municipal liquor stores <br />could apply for licensing as well, but it would need to be separated from the liquor sales in the <br />building. <br />Attorney Brooksbank stated it's not known how applicants will be selected yet but a scenario being <br />discussed is there could be a scoring process with bonus points given for social equity applicants. <br />Mayor Dietz stated he likes the idea of the city keeping the two licenses at the liquor stores but is <br />concerned about community pushback. <br />Mr. Portner stated it's beneficial for the following reasons: <br />• city can control the sale of cannabis. <br />• proceeds would be reinvested back into the community versus the unknown with a private <br />owner. <br />■ security concerns with a higher cash type business. <br />Mr. Portner stated the more licenses issued, the more excise tax the city would receive from the state. <br />The city could start with a limited number of licenses and open it up to more in the future once any <br />issues are ironed out. <br />Councilmember Westgaard expressed concerns about not setting any limit and how that could affect <br />the makeup of the community. He stated the revenue stream from the state could be minimal <br />compared to impacts in the community. He'd like to start with a limit on the number of licenses. He <br />is not sure he is interested in the city becoming a cannabis dealer. <br />Councilmember Beyer stated he liked to see a limit of two. Mayor Dietz stated he would not like to <br />see more than four. <br />f I R E l E l 1 1 <br />NATURE <br />