The City and Borough of Juneau Marijuana Committee discussed the possibility of creating a new position within the Community Development Department “to help usher in these new businesses,” wrote CBJ deputy city manager Rob Steedle in a memo to the committee.
In his memo presented during Thursday’s meeting, Steedle requested the new position to “provide technical assistance throughout the permitting process and conduct inspections to ensure that these businesses are operating in compliance with their permits,” among other things.
City Manager Kim Kiefer spoke briefly as an advocate for the position at Tuesday’s meeting.
“We think, with this new business, that you need to have a person who can really be a central (figure) in educating the public and making sure all businesses are complying with their permits,” Kiefer said. “We think that we’re going to need somebody to help with this new business, and we think that this business will help pay for this position.”
According to Steedle’s memo, the annual cost of the position will be about $94,000, but he and Kiefer anticipate that licensing fees from marijuana businesses will help recover that cost. It is too early to know whether the position will be permanent, Kiefer said during the meeting.
Committee reaction to this request was luke-warm.
Committee member Mary Becker said she felt as though creating this position would be premature until the city knows what demand the industry will create for such work.
“I think we all need a little more info before we’re ready to throw that out there,” said committee chairman Jesse Kiehl before tabling the issue.
Planning Manager Beth McKibben, however, said that the CDD will likely need to hire an additional staff member to help take care of the additional responsibilities that will come with this new industry.
“I don’t think we have the capacity to do this work in addition to all the other work we do,” McKibben said after the meeting.
The committee also asked the city attorney to begin drafting an ordinance that will add a new chapter to the city’s Land Use Code specific to marijuana businesses.
According to City Attorney Amy Mead, this ordinance will help lay the foundation for the licensing process, and it will begin to establish the rules and regulations marijuana business will have to abide by in order to operate.
“It will provide clarity for business owners regarding what they need to comply with in order to open a marijuana business,” Mead said.
Once complete, the draft ordinance will go back before the committee, which will then revise it and send it to the Assembly for consideration.
