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Councilmember Buscher shared that when the State was doing the social equity licensing there <br />were big corporations that were buying ‘people’ to enter into the lottery to get these licenses. She <br />noted that the State was trying to prohibit this. She added that no one with a felony can own or <br />manage a dispensary. She said that if they have businesses coming in from different states then <br />they likely already know what they are doing if they are coming from a State where cannabis is <br />already legal. She stated tribal nations have already been able to have dispensaries for months now <br />and things are going well. <br /> <br />City Attorney Knaak explained that the Office of Cannabis Management is making a valiant effort <br />to try to stay on top of the licensing process; however, there is so much going on which makes <br />things incredibly hard to manage. <br /> <br />Councilmember Specht noted that if they have to have these dispensaries in the City then it would <br />be nice to have them be locally owned businesses. <br /> <br />Mayor Heineman asked if the City has been notified of any businesses applying for applications. <br /> <br />Community Development Director Hanson said they just closed the application period in the past <br />few weeks, and they will likely hear in June whose license has been approved. She explained that <br />when these businesses apply for their license, they must have an address for where their business <br />will be. <br /> <br />Councilmember Olson asked if the State will even send the City more than two licensees since that <br />is all they have said they want. <br /> <br />City Attorney Knaak explained that he understands that the licenses will be approved and sent to <br />the City on a first-come-first-serve basis. <br /> <br />Mayor Heineman asked who residents should reach out to if they have any questions related to <br />cannabis businesses. <br /> <br />Community Development Director Hanson said they could reach out to her. <br /> <br />City Attorney Knaak noted that the City does not have to suffer in silence with this if things do not <br />go well. He said if things don’t work out well, the League of Minnesota Cities has expressed their <br />interest in leading some kind of revision effort at the State. <br /> <br />Councilmember Buscher asked how many more Police Officers they would like to have when <br />these stores start opening. <br /> <br />Police Captain Frankfurth said it would be difficult to put a number on when they do not know <br />what these businesses will look like; however, they would like to add more officers for this and <br />the growth of the City. <br /> <br />Nick Phelps, OHM Premier Vaping, said there are an alarming number of applicants who applied <br />to open retail dispensaries. He said there can be a total of 394 retailers in Minnesota based on their <br />City Council Work Session / April 22, 2025 <br />Page 3 of 6 <br /> <br />