Dispensary licensure struggles continue in Menominee

MENOMINEE, MICH. – An attorney representing the City of Menominee in a marijuana lawsuit said the law firm she worked for has stepped down because insurance is expected to cover the city’s expenses.

Kimberly Coschino — attorney at Cummings, McClorey, Davis & Acho — who appeared on behalf of the city at a Jan. 8 hearing, said on Jan. 25, “It was determined that allegations in Puff’s amended complaint triggered insurance coverage. As a result, this meant our involvement in the case was no longer necessary.”

Coschino’s statement was made as others interested in resolving the city’s ongoing cycle of marijuana litigation have raised questions about contributions to the city’s legal defense fund, with some calling for an investigation into alleged impropriety.

Others, however, have said they aren’t aware of any ethics violations.

Menominee Mayor Casey Hoffman told a reporter he is looking into the allegations and would support an investigation.

He also is asking city council members to “roll up their sleeves” and work with him to create new policies to resolve legal complaints from marijuana companies.

“By working together, the Menominee City Council can restore faith in Menominee’s government,” he said.

Hoffman’s comments followed 41st Circuit Court Judge Mary Barglind’s decision on Jan. 8 to continue the injunction preventing Puff Cannabis from opening its newly built store, pending a resolution to ongoing disputes over retail marijuana licenses. Besides Puff, the city also told Highwire Farms it had a license to open a retail store. Both companies have filed lawsuits against the city.

“The lawsuits will regrettably continue until the city council has passed a stipulated consent judgment that grants licenses to the companies who applied before the cap,” Hoffman said
Jennifer Green, an attorney for Puff Cannabis, has accused the city of “shenanigans,” noting it approved a retail license for Puff in December 2024 but delayed a building inspection scheduled for mid-July, then failed to issue a final certificate of occupancy that would have allowed it to open before an August marijuana ballot on a nine-store limit was put to voters.

Green said Puff is losing $2 million to $3 million per month in lost sales because it hasn’t been allowed to open a store.

The city contended the entry to the store’s parking area needed additional approval from Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), but others said this wasn’t accurate..
An MDOT representative said in an email the project would have been approved if it were a KwikTrip.

“This whole situation makes me very uncomfortable,” an MDOT representative said.
Council member Cheryl Haupt said Hoffman hasn’t discussed any allegations of ethical breaches with the city council.

“I think a lot of this is posturing. There are mechanisms in place for reporting malfeasance and ethics violations.”

Haupt also said, “There have been ethics complaints filed and some things have gotten better.”

A majority of those who voted in the low-turnout election supported the nine-store limit, but

Barglind ordered a redo as it did not comply with state statutes.

Again, those who voted favored the limit, which throws into question which retailer will be allowed to open the ninth store.

Highwire Farms attorney Nicholas Joseph Tatro said in the courtroom Highwire received a recreational-use marijuana retail license in 2023, but it is waiting for the city’s approval to proceed with a store. He declined a reporter’s request for comment for this story.

Green also has accused intervening competitors and the city of using monetary influence when awarding retail licenses, despite city ordinances prohibiting “substantial gifts” to city employees and officials. She made her accusations public in a December letter to Hoffman.
Green has questioned the ethics of the city’s policies of accepting contributions to its legal fund from marijuana companies doing business – or seeking to do business – in the city.

“I believe the city council has an ethical duty to begin a formal investigation under Section 2.08 of the Menominee City Charter and appoint a special prosecutor to uncover any further wrongdoing,” Hoffman said.

The city collects a $5,000 license fee and $1,500 administrative fee from each marijuana retailer. Besides these fees, however, the city’s public financial documents indicate it received over $55,000 in checks from at least one retailer with an existing Menominee store.

Other public documents indicate the city sent to an existing marijuana retailer several legal invoices totaling over $20,000 in legal expenses, though the correspondence didn’t include a request for payment.

Green suggested the city’s policies of requesting legal assistance from “intervenors,” or those parties to a lawsuit willing to argue on behalf of the city, violate a city policy prohibiting actions that create an appearance of impropriety.

The policy specifically prohibits “giving or accepting preferential treatment to or from any organization or person,” “losing complete independence or impartiality,” and “affecting adversely the confidence of the public or the integrity of the city government.”

City Manager Brett Botbyl and City Attorney Michael Celello haven’t responded to requests for comment on the marijuana litigation.

Hoffman envisioned a way out of the ongoing marijuana litigation last fall when he introduced to the city council a Lawsuit Prevention Amendment that aimed to halt the marijuana litigation the city faces. It would have allowed those marijuana retailers offered licenses to open their doors, he said.

The council had an opportunity to support Hoffman’s Lawsuit Prevention Amendment and a marijuana reduction amendment prior to the Nov. 4 marijuana ballot, but no council member seconded a motion to act on it, according to official minutes of the Oct. 20 meeting.

Now Hoffman wants to re-introduce a competitive application process for licenses, as Michigan’s marijuana statute requires.

With this, dispensaries would make the case for their business and the city council would rank applicants before sending it to the circuit court “to formally represent Menominee’s voice at the mediation table,” Hoffman explained.

Hoffman said the city has “an ethical duty” to offer policy solutions to Barglind so the disputes about licenses are resolved to residents’ satisfaction.