Stevensville voters say ‘yes’ to no dispensary in town

STEVENSVILLE, Mich. (WNDU) - The voters in Stevensville have spoken: if you want to get your pot from dispensaries, you’ll have to buy it elsewhere.

The “yes” votes won Tuesday night, meaning residents rejected the proposal of dispensaries in Stevensville, repealing the November ordinance.

In November 2022, the village passed an ordinance permitting up to two dispensaries to operate in the town, but after an outcry from locals, a referendum was added to the May ballot.

The proposal would’ve allowed these marijuana retailers to generate additional tax revenue to be dedicated to village road improvements.

But opponents countered that other funding streams, including state grants, were available to the village.

“The marijuana thing had the potential of dollars, and I know it is happening in other communities, but I also am seeing that it’s dwindling across the state because of over saturation in the market, says Mary Jo Tomasini, the Chairperson for Friends of Stevensville. “And so, we feel like this won’t be the cash cow the village hoped it to be. The other thing is we want to attract other businesses to the village that lots of people want to come to, not just a niche audience. It’d be great if we could get a restaurant or something else that would be a family-friendly venue.”

The proposal seems to have gone up in smoke because the opponents to this ordinance have prevailed by a vote of 287 to 181.

This means the village will need to find alternative funding for its road improvements.

The Village Manager, Kacey Dominguez, told 16 News Now that she was unavailable for comment on Tuesday night.

Here is the full statement from Friends of Stevensville Chairperson Mary Jo Tomasini:

We are relieved and grateful at the outcome of this vote. We are so thankful to the many village residents that took the time and energy to protect our small town by casting their votes. Now everyone’s energy can be directed towards other positive ways to impact our community.
Fortunately, there are several grant opportunities available to the village for road funding presently, and we expect more to come. The grants available now are well more than the expected revenue from the pot shops and are specifically designated for small towns and villages like ours. If the Council raises taxes, it’s not because of the need for road funding.
We believe this process has stirred an awakening in the residents. Many residents want to be involved and contribute to the growth of Stevensville. We hope that the Council will take advantage of the residents as the valuable resource that they are. We hope the Council will seek ways to form task groups and roundtables for the residents to have meaningful participation in finding solutions for our community’s needs.
We believe our town is a beautiful place to live, do business, and visit. We are encouraged by the recent certification as a Registered Redevelopment Community and other options the Council is considering for the betterment of the community. We hope that soon we will be hearing of family-friendly businesses seeking to be a part of our small town.
Mary Jo Tomasini Chairperson, Friends of Stevensville Committee

Copyright 2023 WNDU. All rights reserved.