Amesbury City Council Update April 2014

A lot is going on in the next few months for the Amesbury City Council.  Here's a preview:

Tuesday April 8 Council Meeting:

• We have second reading/public hearings on:
• Medical Marijuana Overlay District - sponsored back in January by me + Councilors Ferguson, Kelcourse, and McClure.  This measure has been substantially re-drafted by the Planning Board.  The PB re-draft has also been reviewed by Ordinance Committee.  Several additional amendments have also been proposed.  Several moving parts to this important measure but I fully expect a final version to be approved this week, providing a land use/zoning framework to Registered Marijuana Dispensaries in Amesbury.
  
• Medical Marijuana License Measure - sponsored by Councilor Lavoie.  Originally proposed mainly to collect a substantial fee, the need for this was lessened by the recent signing of Host Community Agreements by Mayor Gray with the two companies looking to cultivate in Amesbury. 
• Water Street/Lower Millyard Property Transfers/Easements/Alterations - there are several city-owned parcels in the LMY that will need to be re-arranged somewhat in order to create the new Heritage park and enable the re-alignment of Water Street, etc.  These are all technical issues to clear the way for lots of work anticipated this year down there, including the creation of Heritage Park.

• We have first readings of several new measures:
• New Standards for Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) program -  We received a preview of this earlier this year.  These standards will hopefully help Amesbury with attracting economic development to various parcels around the City, including non-City owned property in the Lower Millyard.  
• Several requests to Surplus City-Owned Property -
• 22 Water Street: salt shed across from the DPW buildings in the Lower Millyard
• Horace Mann School (Congress Street): this one's big, very significant but also comes with lots of risk and questions, which will doubtlessly be pursued in the coming months.  Significant because of historical nature of property and location in the middle of a densely developed (for Amesbury) neighborhood.  Lots that could go wrong with surplussing this property, but lots that could go right, as well.  I'll have a number of questions on this one before I could agree to surplus.
• Carriage Lofts Condominium (Upper Millyard): the 'Cultural Center'/Gallery Space that the City currently owns but only lightly utilizes.  The City has been looking to sell this for sometime and is now proposing to sell it for conversion into two fully accessible living units.  The development proposition on this seems questionable but I look forward to hearing more; everyone agrees that transferring this property off of the City's inventory would be good.

Finally, budget, budget, budget!!  The School Committee approved a budget recommendation for the Mayor last Tuesday (4/1/14).  The Superintendent and the School Committee have been looking at a 'gap' between what it would cost to provide the current 'level of services' to next year's student population.  This gap as been around $300 - 600K.  Principals and Administrators laid out a number of possible reductions, that included:

• Reduction of kindergarten from 'full' day to 1/2 day
• Elimination of HS music/drama position
• Re-organization of Special Education staffing
• Elimination of MS and HS Tech Ed and MS Consumer Science
• Elimination of tuition support for Early College program
• Elimination of HS French

After an intense month of budget workshops and hearing from parents and students, the recommendation that went to the Mayor took kindergarten and HS music/drama off list and re-categorized the SPED re-org (but it will still be taking effect and will change the way that SPED is approached within Amesbury schools).  The rest are still on (bolded above), to the tune of a $458,000 reduction.

From there, the Mayor will take the school budget and combine it with the rest of the City's budgets, for presentation to the Council in early May. 

Medical Marijuana Cultivation Sites - Amesbury Host Agreements

Mayor Ken Gray recently signed community host agreements with both of the companies that have received provisional licenses to cultivate medical marijuana in Amesbury, the Alternative Therapies Group (ATG) and Green Heart Holistic.

Both agreements took up and extended the negotiating framework that Mayor Kezer had started late last year, as his term came to an end.

Mayor Gray forwarded copies of the agreements to the City Council today.

I have posted them here:

• Alternative Therapies Group
• Green Heart Holistic

 The agreements are different in technical terms but appear to be the same in the essentials [caveat: I'm not a lawyer]:

• Both companies agree to make unrestricted contributions of $50,000/year to the City for 5 years
• Both companies agree to make additional contributions to Amesbury charitable organizations of at least $5,000/year
• After 5 years, both companies agree to make unrestricted contributions of $50,000/year, with increases chained to the Consumer Price Index
• No end date, save the point that either business either loses their DPH license or moves out of Amesbury
• Both companies agree to be treated as non-tax exempt entities, for the purposes of local property and personal tax, irregardless of how either the Commonwealth or the local Assessor determines they should be treated (given their Chapter 180 status as exempt organizations)
• Both companies agree that they will not seek DPH licenses to dispense medical marijuana in Amesbury

First, let me saythat I'm pleased that Mayor Gray has continued Mayor Kezer's pragmatic and non-sensational approach to these businesses and their coming to our community.  

Assuming that both ATG and Green Heart's provisional licenses are made permanent by DPH, Amesbury stands to realize at least $100,000 a year in unrestricted income.  When we are talking at the level of individual positions (as I believe we will be in this year's budget), that kind of income from two businesses is significant. 

The tax status provision is also significant.  Opinion on how these businesses will (or won't) be taxed locally has been all over the map.  Our own City Assessor has indicated that, in his opinion, these entities (organized as 'Chapter 180' tax-exempt organizations in MA), would not be subject to local property and personal tax.  The MA Dept. of Revenue has officially taken no position on this.  And former Mayor Kezer and other have not considered them to be tax-exempt.  The tax status provision nails this down and says that these businesses WILL be subject to local property and personal tax.  Practically, this likely doesn't mean TOO much, in terms of tax revenue.  Businesses are only taxed on property if they own it.  Both ATG and Green Heart will be leasing space for operations but they may own their cultivation and fabrication equipment, meaning the latter will now definitely be taxable.  Again, not a ton of money but not nothing.

Not having an effective end date is a double-edged sword.  On the one hand, it guarantees all parties a stable and predictable framework.  Budget Directors like this and businesses like this, as well, in terms of predictable obligations.  On the other hand, there is no room to change the arrangement, if circumstances change (save the narrow escape clauses).

Finally, both companies agree not to pursue licenses to dispense in Amesbury, taking that issue of the table for now, at least as far as these two companies are concerned.  

February 2014 Council Update

With our second meeting (February 11) under our belt, the City Council is getting busy.  Here’s a re-cap of what we have going on and will be working on in the next month.

• Appointed of Robert LaPlante to the Planning Board and Mary Louise Bartley to the District 2 Municipal Council. 

• Issued several new business licenses, including 4 for businesses’ working out of Kitchen Local at Barbara Lorenc’s 14 Cedar Street building. 

• Received several measures from Mayor Gray related to the planned improvement of the Route 150 corridor in Amesbury, from Route 110 to Main Street.  This is a stage in a broader plan for this road that began under Mayor Kezer.  As part of the water improvement bond project approved when I was on the Council in 2008-9, a new water main was laid down Hillside and Sparhawk Streets (Rt. 150).  This phase is a Mass. Highway Department project.  Information about the project can be found HERE.  Here is the description of the project from the Mass. Highway project website:

The purpose of this project is to improve vehicular and pedestrian safety and improve vehicular capacity and traffic operations within the project limits. The portion of Route 150 included in the project limits includes a section of Hillside Avenue and Sparhawk Street from Route 110 to School Street. Greenleaf Street is also included from Sparhawk Street to Friend Street, and Highland Street from Hillside Avenue to Locust Street.

The Council has been asked to approve plans to make alterations to the layouts of Hillside, Sparhawk and Greenleaf Streets.  We have also been asked to appropriate $413,758 “in order to acquire the fee interests and/or permanent and temporary easements in certain parcels of land.”  This includes temporary construction easements (e.g. to have construction equipment with property lines) and permanent easements.  I believe that these funds will be raised by issuing a 20 year bond.  As I currently understand the project (the Mass. Highway project site doesn’t have much detail), the project will involve widening the corridor and improving pedestrian safety (e.g. adding crosswalks).  This project will have a major impact on District 6, during construction and beyond.

Maps and explanations of the project have not been provided to us yet, but I expect that they will be presented by the City at our public hearing on this.

I have scheduled a direct meeting this week with our DPW Director, Rob Desmarais, in order to find out more detail.  I have already received constituent communications with questions and concerns about this project; I will share what I know as I learn more about this project. 

• A few things are popping with the Lower Millyard redevelopment. 

o   The Council got a preview of a request that will come back to us later this Spring, when we will be asked to sub-divide the City-owned property that the Department of Public Works currently occupies.  One of the buildings will be re-purposed for the Carriage Museum.  The building used for repairing and storing vehicles will be torn down and that lot will, in part, be used for the re-alignment of Water Street.  And the property across the street (#22 Water) from the 2 existing buildings will be surplused, for likely sale to a developer.  The question for the City will be how and for what purpose we will surplus the #22 Water Street property.  We can sell the property to a developer with conditions that it be developed along specific lines (e.g. residential, commercial, retail, mixed use) or leased to a developer for a particular purpose.  Mass. Development funded a market conditions study conducted last year by a consultant to help the City assess its options.  The study looked at condo and commercial market conditions both downtown and in Amesbury overall and provides some good context for thinking about this property and general market.  You can read the study HERE. 

o   HERE is a link to a Mass. Development overview of the LMY project.

o   HERE is a link to a great set of graphics that visually indicates the where & what of this project, using photos of current conditions.  This was provided to the Council at my request, as part of the presentation on the Water Street properties.

• The Council has several workshops scheduled, including:

o   February 25, with Fire Chief Brickett, focusing on an overview and update of the Fire Department Headquarters improvements.

o   March 5, with School Superintendent Michelle Robinson and Ass’t Superintendent Deirdre Farrell, giving an overview of the School budget, including Chapter 70 funding from the Commonwealth.

• Finally, we have two medical marijuana measures working their way through various committees.  I will save those updates for their own blog post.

Massachusetts Medical Marijuana - In The News

As legislation relating to the local implementation of medical marijuana cultivation and dispensaries works its way through our Planning Board, Ordinance Committee, Finance Committee and City Council, I thought I'd post some recent articles from the Boston Globe and the Newburyport Daily News on the subject.  DPH is scheduled to announce the first rounds of licenses this week, by 1/31/14.

·                     "Marijuana bidders getting help from politically savvy" - Boston Globe, November 26, 2013.  Looks like some well-connected lobbyists are getting lots of work out of the roll-out of Registered Marijuana Dispensaries.

·                     “17 nonprofits eye medical marijuana dispensary licenses” – Boston Globe, Globe North Section, December 5, 2013.  This article is about the organizations seeking licenses on the North Shore of Boston.

·                     “Councilors propose zoning rules for medical marijuana facilities” – Newburyport Daily News, January 9, 2014.  An article on the measure sponsored by me and co-sponsored by Councilors Ferguson, Kelcourse and McClure.

·                     “Marijuana program chief named - Pick will decide who gets licenses” – Boston Globe, January 14, 2014.  New program chief for the medical marijuana program at DPH.

·                     “Children with epilepsy waiting for medical marijuana - Could be an answer for affliction, but it’s not here yet” – Boston Globe, January 26, 2014.  A friend of my wife similarly put out a recent plea for action; she has a child with a seizure disorder but lives in New York State, which does not currently allow for medical marijuana.

·                     “Mass. puts the ‘medical’ in marijuana” – Boston Globe, Opinion, January 28, 2014.  Opinion piece noting that MA's program has a strong focus on the medical component of marijuana cultivation, production and distribution.

·                     “Banks shun fledgling marijuana firms in Mass - Prospects of violating federal law deter lending” – Boston Globe, January 29, 2014.  Interesting business wrinkle for the providers involved.

 Bonus link: CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta, on why he changed his mind about medical marijuana.  Click here for link.

Medical Marijuana Moratorium - What Happened and What`s Next

The City Council met last night (12/30/13) to, among other things, give final consideration to a proposed 6 month zoning moratorium on any activity related to the cultivation or dispensing of medical marijuana in Amesbury.  The moratorium failed on a technicality--state zoning law requires that any zoning measure must be heard in a public hearing by the local Planning Board.  The PB had been unable to hear this measure yet.  The meeting was scheduled as a joint meeting with the Planning Board, but the PB failed last night to raise a quorum, so they could not lawfully meet. Without a PB hearing on the measure, the Council could not legally vote on it and today marks the last day of this Council`s session, effectively ending any chance for the moratorium to be voted on.

Nonetheless, the evening was tremendously informative; it was a shame that it was not televised.  Both ATG and Greenheart - the two not-for-profit corporations applying for state licenses to cutlivate MM in Amesbury - were there to make presentations and answer questions.  There were about 40 members of the public there last night, a good crowd for a Council meeting, and 99% of them stuck it out until the meeting ended at 10:30 p.m.  The Council and members of the public asked excellent questions and the providers, to my mind, gave thorough and satisfying answers.  Though the Council could not formally vote on the measure, a public hearing by the Council was nonetheless held and quite a few members of the public stood up to speak on the moratorium.

I would estimate that the distribution of for/against a moratorium was about the same as the percent of Amesbury residents who supported medical marijuana in the first place.  2/3 of the public speakers and a majority of the Councilors were against the moratorium (and thus were for paving the way for these businesses to operate in Amesbury, should they receive state licenses) and 1/3 spoke in favor of the moratorium.  The public comments all around were thoughtful.  If the measure had come to a vote, it would have failed (as a zoning measure, it required a 2/3 vote in favor to pass).  I joined the good number of people who spoke against the moratorium.

What is next?  The MA Dept. of Public Health is scheduled to issue licenses at the end of January, 2014.  If neither ATG nor Greenheart are given licenses, then this question is moot in Amesbury....for now.  If one or both receive a license, then they have 180 days to open shop, start growing, and start dispensing MM products.  Along with several other Councilors, I will be introducing a Medical Marijuana Zoning Overlay District bylaw this coming Friday, the day after we are all sworn in.  This measure will give the community the framework that it has needed to fully review and discuss the relevant issues.  It will allow us to look ahead and tackle what I believe is of most concern to residents of Amesbury, the prospect of having a MM dispensary in Amesbury - but no entity has applied for a license to do dispense in town at this time. Councilor McClure has already re-introduced the 6 month moratorium as a "late file" for our first official Council meeting on 1/2/14, the night we are sworn in.

Cutting Through The Haze

So, in November of 2012, with 62% of the vote, the voters of Massachusetts approved a measure to allow the cultivation, production, prescription and dispensing of products derived from marijuana for narrow medicinal purposes.

The MA Department of Public Health released regulations implementing this measure in May and then began the process of issuing licenses to prospective businesses to operate as 'Registered Marijuana Dispensaries (RMD)'.  DPH has put out clear information; you can find it HERE.

I will be writing more on this but here is some basic information for the residents of Amesbury on this, in hopes of dispelling some of the substantial fog that has been pumped out regarding this in the last month or so.

• Who can use medical marijuana products?  Only trained and certified physicians can prescribe it and only patients with specific 'Debilitating Medical Conditions' can take it. Debilitating Medical Condition means cancer, glaucoma, positive status for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis (MS), when such diseases are debilitating, and other debilitating conditions as determined in writing by a qualifying patient’s certifying physician.  

• What 'products' are we talking about, anyway?  We are NOT talking about the kind of products that are smoked.  And we are not talking about the type of marijuana that will get you stoned.  We are talking about what the law calls MIPs (Marijuana-Infused  Products), such as edible products, ointments, aerosols, oils, and tinctures.  This means they are NOT producing weed for joints. Patients will not be benefiting from THC (a psychoactive chemical) so much as from other 'cannabinoid' chemicals found in the marijuana plant.  In fact, the plants that we can expect to be grown by licensed growers will be marijuana strains low in THC and high in these other compounds, to maximize the medicinal benefits.  

• 'Pot Farms'?  Newspapers like headlines that sell papers and get web-site hits and by using terms like ‘Pot Farm’.  You'd get the impression that we are opening hippie communes in Amesbury.  What we are talking about, however, is best seen as a light industrial activity.  This is why the two possible cultivation sites in Amesbury are both located in buildings zoned for industrial/commercial uses.  Much like other light manufacturers, 'Registered Marijuana Dispensaries' will need: space, security, and access commercial/industrial utilities (electricity, water, sewer). 
• Is there a difference between Growers and Dispensaries? Compliance with the MA regulations requires intense control systems and security measures and will be an entirely indoor activity.  One important part of the regulations is that all RMD licensees must have 'vertically integrated' operations.  That is, each RMD will be literally responsible every aspect of production from accounting for every plant seed, through fabrication and transportation of MIPs to the dispensing of products through licensed dispensaries. 

• So, what are we talking about for here in Amesbury?  There are 2 'Registered Marijuana Dispensaries (RMD) applicants who are looking to site their cultivation and fabrication operations in Amesbury.  There are NO RMD license applicants who want to site a dispensary in Amesbury.  This is a key point.  DPH's RMD licensing process is very explicit in terms of the applicants indicating where each part of their operations will be.  As I understand it, an RMD approved to operate a dispensary in, say, Salem MA and cultivate in Amesbury does not have the option of portability with that license.  (Alternative Therapies Group has proposed just that arrangement: grow in Amesbury, dispense in Salem.)  So, no dispensaries for Amesbury anywhere on the horizon.  And approval to grow here does not open that door.  As mentioned already, this commercial activity (cultivating and fabricating MIPs) is really an industrial activity and will need to fit into locations with zoning that already allows for such uses.  This plus the operational needs (utilities, space) limits where these sites can be to existing industrial buildings and industrial parks.  We should review our current zoning for this use in light of this new activity.
• When might this happen? The MA Department of Public Health is in the final phase of vetting and approving non-profit applicants for licensing (only non-profits are eligible to apply).  'Phase II' applications were due November 21, 2013.  This is why the Council was considering a 'letter of support' for one of the applicants in the first place in November.  Now, the applications are in and the whole question of letters of support (or opposition) are moot.  DPH has indicated that RMD awards will be announced by January 31, 2014.
• I still don't like it--what can we do about it?  The short answer is: not much.  As the law of the land, the Commonwealth has made it abundantly clear that approved 'Registered Marijuana Dispensaries (RMD) will be able to operate throughout the Commonwealth (and remember, no RMD licenses have been awarded yet).  The Attorney General has nullified various by-laws and ordinances that were clearly designed to hinder or exclude RMDs from entering their community (whether for cultivation/fabrication or dispensing).  Communities can: a) adapt their existing zoning by-laws to incorporate this new type of activity and add restrictions that don't effectively make it impossible to operate in a community (for example, only allowing an RMD in a location that is a wetlands); and b) institute a time-limited zoning moratorium. But ultimately there is no way to block this legal activity.

So, the train left the station over a year ago on this issue and Amesbury is taking it up now.  On a personal level, from my own experience of working with people living with HIV/AIDS who were already able to take a prescribed cannabinoid in the form of Marinol, I need no convincing regarding the potential medical benefits for folks suffering from a number of conditions.  Looking at all the facts as an incoming Councilor, it is clear that there is not too much for the City of Amesbury to sort out or decide upon, in terms of regulating potential RMD activity.  The DPH regulations are extensive and the law is the law of the land.  That said, any time you have a new industry looking to locate in your community, it is a best practice to review your zoning for any updates that might be called for.  We can do this, moratorium or no.  In fact, a number of Councilors plan on introducing a measure to start that review process at our very first meeting as a Council in January.  And through that, we can begin educating the residents of Amesbury about what this all is and IS NOT all about.