MENOMINEE, MICH. – Menominee Mayor Casey Hoffman said he plans to call for a city council vote on a Marijuana Reduction Amendment on Oct. 20 with hopes of limiting the number of marijuana dispensaries within city limits to no more than seven stores with a Nov. 4 election fast approaching to allow voters to have a say.
The reduction would be accomplished through attrition (gradual reduction) instead of forced store closings, Hoffman said on Facebook. But the mayor also supports a Lawsuit Prevention Amendment that would allow for more stores and keep the city out of court. He plans to ask the City Council to consider this amendment as well when it meets at 6 p.m. on Oct. 20 in City Hall, 2511 10th Ave., Menominee.
“Decisions made by the previous city council, former mayor and city manager have guaranteed that 13 dispensaries will enter Menominee no matter what. I did not start Menominee’s marijuana debate, but I am prepared to help end it,” Hoffman said on Facebook. He did not respond to a reporter’s email requesting comments for this story.
Hoffman’s call for an eventual limit to the number of stores is in response to the results of an Aug. 5 marijuana ballot, where 85% of Menominee voters supported limiting the number of marijuana stores to nine. The results have been invalidated by Marinette County Judge Mary Barglind as the election didn’t have a candidate on the ballot and didn’t draw many people to the polls.
She invalidated the election results and ordered the redo of the marijuana ballot in the Nov. 4 City Council election.
Barglind’s order stemmed from City Council Member Bill Plemel’s lawsuit against the city, asserting the August election was illegal.
Plemel told a reporter last week, “The lawsuit I was involved with didn’t have anything to do with marijuana. It was whether it was legal to have that election. It wasn’t. I won.”
About one out of four registered Menominee voters cast votes Aug. 5. Among those who voted, 1,416 — or about 85% — said yes to limiting the number of marijuana stores to nine, and about 242 — or 15% — said no, according to official results released by Menominee County Clerk and Register of Deeds Marc Kleiman.
Barglind also issued an injunction halting any new marijuana stores from opening until results of the marijuana ballot are counted.
Plemel’s attorney Michael Corcoran said allowing the election results to stand could put the city at risk of further litigation in the future if someone were to challenge the election’s validity. “It will cost a little money to redo the election in November, but it’s going to save a whole lot of money in the long run,” Corcoran said in the courtroom.
The Nov. 4 election is expected to draw a larger turnout. “This time there are candidates on the ballot. There are different people running throughout the state, including several City Council candidates,” Plemel said, as the council has staggered terms. According to the county’s website, four seats are on the ballot, including:
The proposed ordinance amendment appears on each of these ballots and asks whether a proposal to provide for no more than nine marijuana retailers in the city of Menominee should be adopted.
The election also includes ballots related to local bonds and millage proposals in Gourley, Harris, Meyer, Nadeau and Spaulding townships, the website read.
Plemel said last week, “I don’t care which way the vote goes” on marijuana store limits, but he understands the reason the state statute exists. A low-turnout election doesn’t necessarily reflect the community’s sentiment, as it indicates indifference about the question being asked.
Some residents, business owners and community leaders see the benefits the marijuana stores have brought, including the minimum of $400,000 in new funds the city and county each receive for hosting the stores.
Perhaps more important, the stores draw visitors to Menominee, Mich., Plemel said.
“I never dreamed it would turn out to be as wonderful a business as it turned out to be. They’re making millions of dollars.”
He added that prohibiting stores that have received city approval will lead to more lawsuits. Puff Cannabis has filed a lawsuit against the city, Plemel said, as their store was slated to open this fall but was halted by a court-ordered injunction.
Mayor Hoffman expressed concern about further litigation and drafted the Lawsuit Prevention Amendment. This would allow Puff Cannabis and three other marijuana stores to open, he said.
“If the Lawsuit Prevention Amendment is not adopted by the city council, cannabis companies who have invested in Menominee will sue the city, win in court and open up shop anyway,” Hoffman explained.
Marijuana availability has been a controversial topic in Menominee for years. Recent discourse surrounded the amount of influence a marijuana company should have on local elections.
Despite a ballot heading that read, “City of Menominee Proposed Ordinance Amendment,” the city wasn’t directly involved in putting to the voters the question about limiting the number of stores, council members said.
“It really wasn’t our decision. Somebody from outside collected enough signatures to get it put on the ballot,” said DeDamos
The Menominee City Council had discussed the Aug. 5 election because it had to approve it to pay the poll workers, but it didn’t discuss the specific marijuana ballot, added DeDamos.
The council’s discussion leading up to the ballot question centered on: “This is a primary election, but there’s nobody being primaried. Should this be taking place?” DeDamos told a reporter in August.
Defending Menominee, A Ballot Committee reportedly backed the marijuana ballot. Kevin Blair, attorney for Lume, represented Defending Menominee as an intervenor in the lawsuit. Lume was among the four marijuana companies that received a license to open a store in Menominee in 2021.
Blair has actively defended Lume’s right to operate a store in Menominee Its desire to limit the number of stores would prevent more competitors from entering the market and potentially impacting its sales. With many customers driving from the south over the bridge to Menominee, they pass by several other stores, including Higher Love, Nirvana and Green Pharm before they get to Lume’s location.
Plemel said the election results essentially contradicted the city’s ordinances. He said the city’s zoning ordinance serves to limit marijuana stores.
Eight marijuana stores are open in the city, City Manager Brett Botbyl said. Puff was preparing to open a ninth store when the election came up and halted its progress. Highwire Farms also has received a license for a location at 10th Avenue and 10th Street but hasn’t acted on it, Plemel said.
These stores do more than sell marijuana, said Neal Davis, who runs Elevated Exotics, a family business owned by his mother Barb. It strives to support the community by providing music festivals and charitable donations.
The company’s next music event, “Elevated Frequencies,” is scheduled for Dec. 26 and 27 at the Sunnyview Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Oshkosh.
Following its Summer’s End Smokeout event, held in Republic, Mich., the company donated over 700 pounds of hamburgers, brats and hot dogs to charities, including the St. Vincent Depaul Food Pantry in Marinette.
In Marinette, Ashley Campell, executive director of St. Vincent DePaul, said Elevated Exotics’ food donations “will go a long way to helping neighbors in need.” In a thank-you note to the company, she said the donation made a real difference for the families the food pantry serves.
Regarding the Michigan election, Davis said that while Elevated Exotics didn’t take a position, he supports giving people a say.
“Everybody’s voice matters and everybody’s say matters. I also believe that things are going to happen how they happen, and people just need to do what they do and make the best of it.”
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