Here is the LiveAgenda, greatly expanded. Click any of the links to watch the meeting beginning at the linked speaker's speaking. Toward the end the link lands about ten seconds early.
Here's a portable, clickable version of the LiveTimeline
11/12/2020 Northfield Township Board of Trustees meeting LiveTimeline
And here's the stuck-to-the-webpage version of the LiveTimeline
Call to order
Invocation
Pledge of Allegiance
Roll Call
1st Call to the Public
- Mary Devlin
- Barb Wutka
- Sam Iaquinto
- Dan McClean
- Monica Miller
- Mary Czech
- John Gura
- Dana Forester
- James Trunko
- David Gordon
- Wayne Davison
- Craig Warburton
- Denise Pollicella, Managing Partner, Cannabis Attorneys of Michigan: Remove interbusiness boundaries. Remove Unenforceable caregiver language
- Adam Olney
- Todd Hoffmeyer
- Coyote Windsong
- Jerry Griffin, PincannaRx
- Shannon Koenig
- Marissa Prizgint
- Margaret Riddell
- Brad Cousino
Board Member Response
- Zelenock
- Dockett
- Otto
- Chick
- Audience applause shouted down by Chockley
- Manley
- Beliger
- Beliger: Some people say the Yes vote lost
- Chockley
Motion to Accept the Consent Agenda
Recess
Meeting called back to order
- Wagner: comment re police, fire dept use of PFOS
- Beliger asks Wagner re report on potential costs of marijuana regs
- Otto re Crystal Ball
- Dockett re sewer department statement
- Correction of Minutes begins
- $17,000 raise in insurance
- Zelnock - Tetra Tech is already surveying the WWTP
- Zelenock: questions on the manager's report
- processes, procedures re marijuana ordinances - have you started mr Aynes?
- Zelenock: can we at least see a draft at our next meeting
- Otto: I would like to see a draft at our next meeting
- Zelenock: motion that we have a draft of the administrative procedures and forms at our next meeting
- Manley asks about 30 days
- Burns: Yes, there's a publication requirement
- Aynes, we would anticipate it being in the ann arbor paper, the sunday following today: if you were to pass something tonight. It's thirty days from that point, which puts us about December 17th.
- Dockett
- Chockley: My only concern...
- Zelenock and Otto: We've had plenty of time to get ready for this
- Zelenock: Tell me what event, what item in this Township has brought out so many people and has gathered so much attention
- Zelenock: I still have the floor
- Beliger asks for an impact study before...
- Chockley asks if WWTP can remove pesticides from MJ grows
Adopt the balance of the Agenda
- Chockley: motion to move items 7 and 8 to front
- Otto: recommends moving 7&8 to number 2. Bills come first
- Fun with numbering of agenda items. priceless stuff.
- We're doing one, then seven and eight, then three, then going through the rest
- Roll Call vote
- Failed 4:3
- Chockley, So we're gonna do 1, then 7 and 8, then the newly added 9, which is the opt out ordinance, then number three, then number 2, 4, 5, 6
- Zelenock: Whose job is it to do the Agenda
- The Township Manager addresses the issue
- Zelenock: That's not good enough
Agenda Item 1: Chockley: Motion to approve payment of open bills
Agenda Item 7, Ordinance 1966
- Chick: motion re WLD
- Manager Aynes, comment re item removal by Lippens in July??
- Chick clarifies her motion re allowing downtown provisioning centers
- Chick: I make a motion to allow marijuana provisioning centers to locate in the WLD-D, downtown, and the WLD-W district, waterfront
- Call the Question
- Dockett: We're done; let's go to another one.
- Chockley: Please don't interrupt
- Dockett: Go Right Ahead; I love it.
- Chick: Motion to allow Adult Use Recreational Marijuana in the WLD-W downtown and WLD-D waterfront
- Roll call...
- Roll call
- Roll Call
- Chockley: That passes 5:2
- Chick: I make a motion to allow grows of over 500 cannabis plants to locate in the Research Manufacturing Technology district
- Roll Call
- Roll Call
- Motion passes 6:1 Beliger: no
- Chick: Motion to adopt Ordinance 19-66 with the changes to the Whitmore Lake District Downtown and the Whitmore Lake District Waterfront
- Manley asks Chick wherefrom the changes arose? Lippens?
- Chick: The public has been asking for these businesses in the downtown area for months
- Manley: Were you aware of these changes before today?
- Chick: Yes, yesterday
- Otto: It was on the 9/24 meeting
- Zelenock: I'd like to add… Zelenock asks about disappearance of the WLD-D and WLD-W business inclusion between the 9/24 packet in which it was present, and the succeeding ordinance, dated 10-8, in which it was absent.
- Zelenock: We were not informed that it
- Zelenock: We were informed of some minor changes but this major deletion....
- Zelenock: I didn't realize that I had to make sure deletions don't occur in the things I get back.
- Zelenock: I have asked for more procedures. I've asked for summaries to be put in. I've asked for changes to be documented, and it doesn't happen
- Zelenock: So we revisit and we revisit
- Zelenock: It's to the point that it might be time to look for new planners
- Beliger: How many feet are we away from schools
- Belilger: Motion to change school buffer to 1000 feet
- Chick: we can adopt anything. The City of Ferndale has a 500 foot buffer; The City of Inkster has a 500 foot buffer. Walled Lake, Oakland County has a 500 foot buffer.
- Jacki: The Marijuana Act stands on its own
- Beliger: How many foot buffer in Ann Arbor?
- Chick: reads MTA explanation: You have asked
- Dockett: Can I get in on this?
- Dockett: We do not have to reinvent the wheel
- Dockett: We use the same thing for marijuana that we use for alcohol
- Dockett: There's no difference between this and alcohol
- Dockett: What is wrong with having it the same as alcohol?
- Chockley: The Law.
- Otto: Paul [Township Attorney Burns], can you tell us if the public act code supercedes the marijuana act?
- Burns: I don't think the law has been settled
- Beliger: I'd like to move to increase the buffer zones around schools to 1000 feet.
- Zelenock: Don't we have a motion on the floor, Madame Chair?
- Manley: question to mr burns
- Burns on the question, again. State law preempts local ordinances. But the question is not settled of whether this is a carve-out and the doctrine of state pre-emption may no apply.
- Zelenock: We have talked about this time and time again and it's always a 4:3 vote
- Roll Call
- Beliger motion fails. 4:3
- Beliger moves to add public parks to the existing 500 foot buffers
- Beliger Motion Fails: 4:3 No
- Beliger: Motion 500 foot buffer around day care
- Beliger Motion Fails. 4:3
- Beliger: move to disallow all marijuana uses ... from the Agricultural District
- Beliger restates the Anti Ag district motion
- Dockett: What do we do about the 307 in Ag who voted for it?
- Beliger: The motion is to disallow these establishments in the agricultural zone. I did not say in precinct 2
- Manley: what is allowed right now in Ag?
- Zelenock: I think we have addressed those (Ag zoning) issues
- Chockley: What's allowed in the Ag area will be 500 or less plants
- Beliger: Do I need to beg the Township Board? Do I need to get on my knees and beg?
- Roll Call
- Another Beliger motion fails 4:3
- Zelenock: Motion to exclude or preclude the four new classes. temporary marijuana events
- 1 temporary marijuana event
- 2 marijuana event organizer
- 3 excess marijuana grower
- 4 designated consumption establishments
- Beliger: Asks why the board doesn't simply vote to do what Zelenock's motion allows them to vote on. Bizarre.
- Motion passes. Beliger votes no.
- Zelenock tells Chockley to make Motions.
- Chockley: Motion that recreational marijuana retailers be colocated with a medical marijuana establishment
- Chockley: reveals that she and Barb Griffith attended an Michigan Downtown Association for two sessions on marijuana
- Chockley: David Heywood, the Planning and Zoning administrator for East Lansing
- Chick: we don't have any medical marijuana business. This makes it more difficult.
- Chockley: East Lansing ordinance is in the packet
- Chockley: East Lansing ordinance requires a 1% of net profit annual donation
- Otto: People should give because they want to, not because they're forced to
- Manley: sounds like a bribe to me
- Chockley: Emergency rules expire in January. 10 additional rulesets will be arriving in January to replace the expiring emergency rules
- Chockley: Traverse City DDA does not allow marijuana establishments in their DDA district
- Chick: Motion to adopt Ordinance 19-66 with the changes. to the WLD Downtown and the WLD Waterfront district and the Research Technology Manufacturing district
- roll call vote
- Chockley: passes 6:1, Beliger opposed
Chick: Motion to adopt Ordinance 19-67 to add chapter 23, Marijuana facilities to the code of ordinances
- Beliger: With the passing of these ordinances we are necessarily placing the township at risk and in harms way and this township government will be aiding and abetting illegal drug activity. This will be redefining of the township, transformational.
- Manley: I still feel that the numbers are too high
- Chockley: People laugh at that. They know it's a mind altering material.
- Zelenock: Certainly for the dispensary
- Call the question
- Call the question
- Motion Passed 4:3
Otto: Motion to hire a temporary clerk to help handle the applications
- Zelenock: We should do that only if we cut back the township manager's hours, and pay for it that way. The township manager should be leading this effort. If we don't think he's capable, he shouldn't be the township manager.
- Manley: I totally agree with you that we probably will need more staff
- Beliger goes off on a tear about growing government
- Beliger asks when they can ask for an impact study
- Chick answers Beliger's question. No impact was shown in at least one study.
Item # 3, no #9, no #2? Opt out - #9
- Zelenock: It's the one that's not on the Agenda. "Laying on the table"
- Chockley: the current opt out is expiring today
- Paul Burns: Really, the opt out should expire simultaneously with the effectiveness of the zoning ordinance.
- Planner: the MRA is accepting applications from anyone with an opt out not on file
- Planner: Unlike MMFOA, MRTMA requires...
- Beliger shoots for the moon, a sunset date of nearly never
- Manley piles on the sunset date try
- Beliger: we could opt out for a year or two...
- Zelenock: Motion to extend the sunset clause until December 17th
- Burns: What I'm recommending
- Vote on opting out til 17th
- Passes 7:0
- Beliger: Wait a minute. Did we just agree on something?
#3 now? No, #2
- Chockley: No, No, the sewer backup claim
- Chockley: Number [ ? talked over by Dockett] Motion to adopt resolution 19-613 amending the 2020 budget
- Motion passes 7:0
Consider purchase offer for 75 Barker
- Township Manager: asking price of $275K was met. Followed immediately by counter offer of $350K
- Motion to postpone until next meeting passes 7:0
Chockley: motion to approve rezoning from AG to Limited industrial for 6410 Whitmore Lake Road
Chick: Motion to approve Terra Firma's request to operate a landscape biz with outdoor storage of materials
Trustee Liason Reports
- Zelenock: Motion to accept the resignations of three Land Preservation Committee Members: Patrick Kelly, Jacob Donner, David Perry
- Motion passes 7:0
- Vote 7:0 to accept Trustee Liason reports
Announcements
- Chockley thanks trunk or treat volunteers. 400 kids attended
- Zelenock: Northfield Historical Society received a grant
- Otto: two announcements
2nd Call to the Public
Board Member Response
- Dockett
- Beliger
- Beliger: Four names will be forever affixed to this
- Chick
- Otto
- Manley
- Zelenock rips
- Zelenock: It's time to fire people
- Chick: suggestion
- Aynes defends himself
- Zelenock: Why is the policy of the board not being followed? re tuesday afternoon packet deadline?
- Aynes completes Zelenock's comment: "It's 3:00pm, not 3:30pm"
