Refused Marijuana application raises questions of eligibility
A marijuana company’s amended application for a license was refused on Tuesday, according to a letter presented during public comment to the Menominee Judicial and Legislative/Personnel and Labor Committee on Wednesday.
Joni Moore, owner and president of O.I. Holdings, writing on behalf of Higher Love, its subsidiary, said that Higher Love attempted to submit its amended application for a marijuana license on July 11. The city refused to accept the amended application.
The first reason provided by the city was that the city hadn’t generated a new application form. The second — the amended ordinance hadn’t become effective.
The question is: Did they need to wait until July 19 to apply for the license, when the newly adopted marijuana ordinance comes into effect? Or were they eligible to apply on June 29, immediately after Menominee passed the marijuana ordinance?
Mayor Jean Stegeman said she does not know who turned down the application.
“It’s my understanding the city manager was in a meeting when the attorney for one of the plaintiffs came into city hall,” Stegeman said. “The attorney spoke with the administrator, and she didn’t have direction. It’s hard for everybody to keep this straight. This has turned into such a can of worms that you practically need attorney advice every time you turn around. I don’t think there was anything shady going on.”
Joslin Monahan, of Miller Johnson, attorney for O.I. Holdings and Higher Love, said Higher Love’s thought was to amend its submission if the city came out with a new application but that they would proceed with the filing since time was of the essence.
“As the plaintiffs interpreted it, it meant if the city was going to require a new form, they had to let us know within 15 days of the adoption of the ordinance, or there wouldn’t be a new form,” Monahan said. “What the agreement doesn’t say is that we have to wait 15 days to see if there’s a new form.”
Council Member Bill Plemel said Higher Love was eligible right away once the Global Marihuana Settlement Agreement was reached in early June and after the city council passed the ordinance on June 29, which was a requirement for the settlement to move forward.
“The settlement says who gets a license and where they’re going, not the ordinance,” Plemel said at the meeting.
The stakes are high if the awarding of licenses is connected to the ordinance. Currently, a petition is circulating in the city. If the petition gains enough signatures, a referendum will be put on the ballot in November, asking the voting public to decide on issues relating to marijuana license numbers.
Suppose the referendum gets put on the ballot. In that case, it will put the ordinance on hold until November, thus potentially pausing the license applications.
“I think the settlement was passed, and that’s what governs the license,” Plemel said, mentioning that the five plaintiffs and Agri-Med can now apply. “And anybody else that’s applying for a license has to conform to the ordinance that will take effect on the 19th.”
According to Section 1B in the settlement agreement, signed by City Clerk/Treasurer Kathy Brofka on June 1, if the city council adopts an amendment to uncap the number of marijuana licenses completely, they will award an additional six licenses to each of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, and Agri-Med, within 30 days of the enactment.
The city adopted the ordinance uncapping marijuana licenses on June 29.
Higher Love, 1400 8th Ave., Menominee, was included in the settlement as one of the six licenses, along with NU Group, 1231 9th Ave., Lume, 2812 10th St., Highwire Farms, 1015 10th St., GreenPharm, 2121 10th St., and Agri-Med, 3109 and 3113 10th St.
Section 1C in the settlement outlines that the plaintiffs and Agri-Med “must each submit its respective amended application, and new application and annual license fee, in order to receive its respective License. If the City wants to create new application forms or fees, for these amended applications, any new form or fee must be published on the City’s webpage within 15 days of the enactment of the Amendment under Section 1A; otherwise, Plaintiffs and Agri-Med may submit their amended applications on the prior form and pay the prior fee.”
In the letter, Moore continued, “If the City decides to provide an updated application form and/or fee schedule, we will promptly supplement.”
City Manager Brett Botbyl said he didn’t know an application was refused while speaking during the meeting.
“We turned down a what?” Botbyl said. “I’m not aware of turning down an application. We haven’t even given out an application. The ordinance doesn’t take effect until —”
“It has nothing to do with the ordinance. It has to do with the settlement,” Plemel said.
“That would be a legal issue, and I’m not an attorney,” Botbyl said. “I’ve had quite a few calls, but I’ve not had anyone give me an application, and we have not handed out an application yet. The application I just received probably two or three days ago.”
The new application he referenced was placed on Menominee’s website on Friday.
Plemel continued to say that the settlement governed the licenses for the original plaintiffs in the lawsuit — including Higher Love — not the ordinance.
“I don’t know, and neither you or I are attorneys,” Botbyl said. “We can agree to disagree all day long on this.”
Council Member Josh Jones asked Botbyl about the new application.
“I opened it up, yes, but — (City Attorney Michael) Celello had it sent to me — but again nothing is, I mean, in my opinion — I’m not an attorney — is that I have until the 19th,” Botbyl said. “Again, due to your graciousness, you have turned city hall upside down, and we cannot keep up, literally. So I’m sorry if things don’t get done on your timeline.”
Botbyl said that the petition as a whole is another issue.
“I have no idea what to do,” Botbyl said.
“And it has nothing to do with any elected official or the City of Menominee period,” said Mayor Jean Stegeman.
Moore said in the letter that Higher Love understands there’s a petition circulating to repeal the ordinance.
“However, we firmly believe that Higher Love’s entitlement to its license, as per the Settlement Agreement, is clear and unequivocal. The possible materialization of such a referendum, we contend, would not impact the right to its license, nor does it absolve the City from its obligations, as stated in the Settlement Agreement, to issue said license.”
Mayor Jean Stegeman commented after the meeting that “because there are ridiculous amounts of cash involved, all parties are going to fight to the bitter end.”
“This entire situation — the marijuana licensing — if the council would have just sat back and let the legal system work out the way we knew it would — and we won — the entire thing would be done,” Stegeman said. “But instead, motivation that can’t be logically explained has put us in the position we’re in now. If we would’ve just trusted our attorneys and waited for the initial lawsuit to be won, which it was, this all would be behind us.”
Plemel commented after the meeting that the more some of the council members saw what was going on with the lawsuit, they wanted to put it behind them and uncap the licensing to avoid some future litigation. He said he knew the city could be sued again.
Stegeman said the fear of future appeals does not scare her.
“Not at all,” she said, mentioning that the merits of the lawsuit’s initial closure would hold up on appeal. “The suing they’re talking about is appeals. So what? We shouldn’t be worried about appeals.”
Joslin Monahan, of Miller Johnson, attorney for O.I. Holdings and Higher Love, released a statement on Thursday.
“As supplemental public comment, please be advised that our offices reviewed the July 12, 2023, public comment offered by Ms. Joni Moore, and we are in agreement with the legal conclusions and recommendation set forth therein,” Monahan said.
