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KXLG – Watertown, SD In last night’s Watertown City Council meeting, reimbursing medical cannabis license fees charged before 2024 was brought to the forefront.
In late 2023, the Council had taken action to lower the medical cannabis fees from $25,000 to $5,000, effective in 2024. There have been ongoing discussions, but there has been no definitive action on the potential reimbursement of fees paid in 2023. Councilman Bueller requested that this issue be brought before the Council for discussion and action.
The staff did not recommend approval of the reimbursement, and City Attorney Lisa Carrico elaborated on the reasons behind this stance…
Watertown Mayor Ried Holien said that he doesn’t have to allow it but gave Dan Fjerstad, owner of Lion’s Den, a Watertown Medical Cannabis dispensary, the opportunity to talk…
Fjerstad says it’s not a fair situation…
The discussion also touched upon the fee schedule and the payment discrepancies among the dispensaries.
Councilman Bruce Buhler argued that the initial fee was punitive and that reimbursing the fees would be fair…
Councilman Jurrens advocated for supporting small business owners and emphasized the importance of fairness in customer service….
On the other hand, Councilman Danforth and Councilman Tupper believed that the fees were reasonable when they were set and that reimbursing them would not be appropriate…
Fjerstad said that Denver area licenses have decreased from $5,000 to $2,000.
It was revealed that one dispensary had not paid the same fees as the other two due to a clerical error during a change of ownership. City Manager Mack explains more…
The city is auditing the records to ensure all dispensaries have paid the same fees.
Councilman Buhler says the license has no value…
Ultimately, the motion to reimburse the medical cannabis license fees did not carry, with the majority of the Council voting against it.
No votes: Danforth, Holien, Peters, Schutte, Tupper
Yes votes: Jurrens, Buhler
Listen to the full meeting audio below:
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Watertown’s $25,000 licensing fee for a medical marijuana dispensary may be one of the state…
”]] KXLG – Watertown, SD In last night’s Watertown City Council meeting, reimbursing medical cannabis license fees charged before 2024 was brought to the forefront. Read More