Menominee holding special vote to determine a new cap on dispensaries
15 dispensaries are projected to be open by the end of 2025, and it is causing a special election to be held on Tuesday.
'It's capped by the zoning ordinance, most people don't understand that, I don't think that we can have more then what we already have got in the process, people that have already bought the property, are likely going to be able to build on it, no matter how the vote goes,' says city council member William Plemel.
Plemel is also taking legal action on this election, saying it is illegal to have an election with no candidates on the ballot, and the judge ruled Friday that the election will take place, and will make a final decision in the coming weeks.
'I think that it is illegal, the state of Michigan says in order to have an election, you need to have someone on the ballot, and no one is on the ballot, and so I pointed that out in the middle of May, but the judge and the attorney say no, it can go on,' Plemel says.
If the vote is passed, the city will only have nine licenses to be used by dispensaries, and would let the ones with money invested in the property, open and running. Something Mayor Casey Hoffman says, will allow the people to decide.
'How do we get to nine dispensaries, after we have got up to 15 open in the city. My suggestion is that the city of Menominee engage in a reduction through attrition policy, which will allow the free market to control the winners and losers in the market, not the government; we won't be picking which companies stay and go.'
The city has been in this situation before, and is hoping to avoid any legal actions taken by the companies, and is hoping to get past a multi-year issue that has blanketed the city of Menominee.
'The path to progress is never a straight line. I think that the path to progress zigs and zags, but we always move forward together,' says Mayor Hoffman, 'I think that Menominee is entering the beginning of the final chapter in this marijuana saga, and I hope that this vote helps us solidify that.'
Polls will be open at 8a.m. and will close at 5 p.m. Ballots can be filled out at Menominee High School, or you can drop your absentee ballot off at City Hall.
Local 5 will have the results of the vote when we have them.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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