05-02-2019 Watervliet Township holds last Public Hearing on Medical Marijuana Ordinance; ponders am

BLOSSOM EXCHANGE… Tri-City royalty took part in the Blessing of the Blossoms Sunday afternoon, the start of Blossomtime Week. Pictured are (from the left) Miss Watervliet Hannah Yerington; Mr. Blossomtime and Mr. Nice Guy Sin’cere Taylor from the community of Coloma; Miss Coloma Samantha Scott; and Miss Hartford Brynn Duffy. (TCR photo by Annette Christie)

Watervliet Township holds last Public Hearing on Medical Marijuana Ordinance;

ponders amount of facilities allowed and nearness to homes

By Annette Christie

The Watervliet Charter Township Board held a Saturday morning public hearing on the proposed ordinance for medical marijuana on April 27. With few in attendance, only one individual spoke on the subject.

Debra Barton said she came to the meeting because she saw in the paper that there had been little interest in the subject. She spoke about some personal experiences she had had with the subject and raised some questions and concerns she had about it. “I am a grandma and I have a concern about children’s access to it,” Barton said. She said she would much rather see additional entertainment options available for teenagers vs. a medical marijuana facility.

Watervliet Township Supervisor Dan Hutchins told Barton that medical marijuana facilities are highly controlled and that the only ones that can get in are those with the proper ID card. “It is a lot more regulated than what is perceived,” Hutchins said.

Trustee Joe Matthews commented that when an individual does get their card, the purchases are monitored by the state with regard to how much and how often you can get it.

Planning Commission member Deanna Heminger, who was present in the audience, commented that the Planning Commission did a lot of research including visiting a provisioning center. “There are 340 people with a Watervliet address that are traveling to Bangor. If there are that many people getting it, why not have one here,” Heminger said.

Following the public hearing portion of the meeting, the board did have some discussion on the subject which still has a couple of hurdles. At the last meeting, Hutchins made it clear that he would not support the ordinance if the distance from a residential zone was only 100 feet.

In addition, Hutchins said that one of the members on the board, after the last meeting, questioned the number of provisioning centers. The ordinance currently allows for four in the township.

Trustee Bob Wallace stated, “I don’t think it matters how many we allow because competition will dictate that.” (Referring to the number of centers allowed.)

With still two remaining issues, Hutchins suggested that maybe it needed to go back to the Planning Commission to resolve those issues. Trustee Joe Stepich (who also sits on the Planning Commission) said that passing it back to the Planning Commission is like playing political football. Stepich said that the board has an ordinance in front of them and if they decide that 100 feet is not far enough or four is too many, that the board can change that. “We will approve it with the numbers that we feel good about,” Stepich said.

With the anticipated passage of the ordinance on the May meeting agenda, the board can make the motion to approve it as is and see if it has enough votes to pass. They could also make changes to the ordinance and see if those changes pass.

Residents or interested individuals can view the proposed ordinance on the Watervliet Charter Township website.

The next regular meeting of the Watervliet Township Board is Monday, May 20, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.

The ordinance provides regulations for the operations of medical marijuana facilities in the township. The ordinance allows for not more than six growers, not more than three processors, not more than four provisioning centers, and no limit on the number of safety compliance facilities and secure transporters.

A grow facility and a processor may co-locate at the same location. All growers and processors must be located within the industrial zoning district. All provisioning centers, safety compliance facilities, and secure transporters must be within the commercial zoning district. All of the facilities, no matter what kind, must obtain a special land use permit.

Provisioning Centers must be located a minimum of 100 feet from residential zoning or an actual current residence and must be located a minimum of 500 feet from a school, playground, park, licensed day care center, or a place of worship. The ordinance provides for the process of applying to the township for such places of business.

WATERVLIET HIGH SCHOOL is proud to announce our Academic Top 10 students from the graduating class of 2019. Pictured (from the left) Seated: Lindsay Adams, Elaine Koshar, Allison Pazera, and Emma Armstrong; Standing: Hannah Nye, Hannah Yerington, Tyler Pennington, Alexander Anthony, Emma Kraklau, and Madeline Teresko. Commencement for Watervliet seniors will be held on Friday, May 31 beginning at 6:30 p.m.

With Spring comes Blossomtime; Grand Floral Parade is Saturday

By Annette Christie Despite the remnants of the previous night’s snowfall still on the ground, Blossomtime royalty came to the Michigan State University Extension Office with the hope of spring that comes with Blossomtime Week. The 2019 Blossomtime Festival officially kicked off Sunday, April 28 with the annual Blessing of the Blossoms. Local royalty brandished blossoms from their respective communities and exchanged with their fellow sisters and brothers of Blossomtime. A history of the event was given providing an overview of how the event began and how it went on to become the largest multi-community festival in the state. As early as 1891, local area business interests took a proactive role in attracting visitors to Southwest Michigan with their promotion to the Chicago market. Hundreds of visitors made their way across Lake Michigan with the local steamship company. In 1906, Rev. W.J. Cady of the First Congregational Church in Benton Harbor was the first to urge his parishioners to drive through the local orchards to take in all the beauty of the fruit blossoms. Cady termed them “symbols of life renewed” and his sermon is credited with the birth of Blossomtime Festival. Present day, Pastor Jason Avery of the First Baptist Church in Bangor provided the opening prayer followed by Pastor Glen Head of the Renovate Church who provided the sermon. Head referenced the Bible passage John 1:5 when he spoke of being like the vines that grow fruit and to trim or prune that which is not fruitful, bad habits or bad friends, etc. He reminded those in attendance that God is shaping His people for a purpose, a purpose to have a life that produces good fruit. He gave the young people the charge to protect the life which is a blossom and to enjoy it, not destroy it. “Stay strong and sturdy in the damaging winds of life,” Head told the crowd. Community royalty begin a week full of festivities. They will be traveling all over Southwest Michigan for the Goodwill tour, where kings and queens will tour their communities. These tours will include stops at elementary & middle schools and assisted living facilities. Dinner with the queens was held at the Lake Michigan College Grand Upton Hall on Monday night. Tuesday night brought the Mayors Banquet. This event was attended by Mr. and Miss Blossomtime and their courts with all of the 23 community queens, mayors, village presidents, city managers and officials of all respective communities. The gathering gave all the dignitaries the opportunity to present the keys to their cities to their respective royalty. In addition, the presentation of the queens’ charm bracelets was held. The history of the charm bracelet exchange began over 40 years ago. The bracelet includes charms with each queen’s photo in it. The community chair people made this presentation. The Youth Parade will be held on Thursday at Dickinson Stadium at St. Joseph High School. Youngsters from preschool through middle school participate in this event that starts at 5:00 p.m. It annually includes floats, bands, Scout Troops, 4-H groups, and the younger Blossomtime royalty. Saturday morning brings the Run/Walk for the Buds event. In its 40th year, it has a 10K run and a 5K run/walk. It begins near the corners of Main and Ship streets in downtown St. Joseph and takes place along the Blossomtime Festival Parade route before the parade begins. The highlight of the week will be Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. with the Blossomtime Grand Floral Parade. The parade will feature over 100 units. Tri-City communities have been very successful in the past few years bringing home countless honors for their parade floats. On Saturday morning prior to the parade, those winners will be announced. The premier event which is the crown jewel of the festival attracts approximately 250,000 spectators and travels 2.5 miles through the community of St. Joseph and into the community of Benton Harbor.

HARTFORD HIGH SCHOOL is proud to announce their Academic Top 10 students from the graduating class of 2019. Pictured are (from the left): Back row – Bradon Trey Ackerman, Amalia Perez, Blake Snyder, Abigail Garcia, Riley Traver; Front row – Mariela Gutierrez Quintana, Makiah Tripp, Mikenzie Chambers, Brynn Duffy, Alondra Ponce. Commencement for Hartford seniors will be held on Friday, May 31 beginning at 7 p.m.