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Mayor Heineman asked if they have any ability to choose which applicants they move forward <br />with. He asked what would happen if there were 12 applicants who wanted to be one of the two <br />licensed retailers in the City. <br /> <br />Community Development Director Hanson said they have not discussed how they would make a <br />selection. <br /> <br />Mayor Heineman said he wants the City to ensure they are getting the best applicants and retailers <br />for these cannabis businesses. <br /> <br />City Attorney Knaak noted that allowing businesses into the City on a first-come-first-serve basis <br />will give them the least resistance. <br /> <br />Mayor Heineman shared that he would still like them to have some control over who comes into <br />the City. He stated he is concerned that a large retailer could come in and request both licenses and <br />this would prohibit locally owned businesses from getting their license. He added that he would <br />also like to vet the applicants and their backgrounds to ensure they would be a good fit for the City. <br />He asked if they have the same level of control over these businesses as they do over liquor stores. <br /> <br />City Attorney Knaak noted the City has a lot of discretion when it comes to liquor stores while <br />they have little to no discretion over cannabis retailers. He said the State will do all of the vetting <br />and investigation necessary to allow a license. <br /> <br />Councilmember Specht asked if the Police Department will be able to do the same compliance <br />checks as they do at the liquor stores. <br /> <br />Community Development Director Hanson said yes and noted that this is a requirement. <br /> <br />City Attorney Knaak noted that if they find someone out of compliance then they will not have the <br />same discretion when it comes to the kind of penalties they want to impose. <br /> <br />Councilmember Buscher noted that the application process with the Office of Cannabis <br />Management is very strict and does a good job at making sure these businesses will be doing what <br />they are supposed to be doing. She added that she would like them to consider allowing more than <br />just two retailers in the City as they would not restrict any other business type in the City in this <br />same way. She noted that she does not think Ramsey will be a hub for marijuana where they will <br />see dozens of applications coming in. She said there will also be issues in the market when these <br />stores first open as there likely will not be enough cannabis to sell in all of the retailers that will <br />be opening. <br /> <br />Mayor Heineman said he is not interested in allowing more than two retailers in the City at this <br />time. He stated he would like to see how the two stores do before they decide to increase the <br />number. He reiterated that he does not want to see the two businesses both be large corporations. <br /> <br />City Attorney Knaak noted that a lot of these businesses could be out-of-State. <br /> <br />City Council Work Session / April 22, 2025 <br />Page 2 of 6 <br /> <br />