The Planning Commission voted six to one tonight to approve the special use permit for a cannabis dispensary in the old Broken Chimney at 618 Tenney Street. The special use permit now moves to the Kewanee City Council meeting for a vote on May 13, 2024, at 7 PM. Watch the live Facebook video below. Two officers from HVN Capital LLC attended the meeting and provided details regarding the facility and the rules and regulations. Chief Executive Officer Dr. Syed Shah and Vice President Chad Anderson represented HVN Capital LLC at the planning commission meeting. The facility will sell recreational cannabis for now, but they plan to apply for a license to sell medical marijuana in the future. According to Dr. Shah, selling medical marijuana requires a separate license. The facility will operate under the name “Top Deck,” which references a deck of cards. At least 10 people will be working daily, employees must be 21 or older, and background checks are required by the state. All employees will be trained by a certified trainer to learn about the products for sale and answer customer questions. The Limited Liability Company paperwork was filed on July 19, 2023; view it here.
The group started the licensing process in 2022, and they found out they won the lottery in August 2023, and just now received their initial license. Chad Anderson said that the majority of their primary investors are within 10 miles of Kewanee; about 85% are local. Because marijuana is not legal at the federal level, the group is unable to get a loan from a bank, so they need investors to fund the start-up. They are able to keep money for the business in credit unions.
They don’t have a plan for traffic control at this time, but they said they are able to put a traffic plan in place for the grand opening and for the first few months after they open. There are plenty of parking spaces, and traffic can exit onto College Street.
The State of Illinois has very strict guidelines for cannabis dispensaries. There are multiple steps to enter the facility, purchase products, and exit the facility. You must show your driver’s license or state ID a few times during the process. There are sealed doors where one door must close before the next door is allowed to open to control the flow of people. Mr. Anderson said they plan to seal up the side and rear doors, except the doors required by the fire code. There will also be cameras inside and outside of the facility. The doors and walls of the building will have vibration sensors as part of the security measures. The west side of the building will not be utilized at this time, and a floor-to-ceiling wall will be required to seal off that area from the utilized side of the building.
Dr. Brooks and Stacy Brown, representing Wethersfield and Bridgeway, respectively, expressed their concern about a dispensary being so close to the school and drug treatment facility. Stacy Brown said the building will literally sit right behind a substance use treatment facility. Stacy Brown asked the commission to “consider the human perspective in this.” She said it’s difficult for people in drug rehabilitation when it’s right there. Dr. Brooks talked about the lack of communication regarding the possibility of a dispensary, especially the lack of communication regarding the council vote to reduce the distance from a school to 250 from 1,000 feet on August 18, 2023. Dr. Brooks said, “As I read through that agenda, that doesn’t really tell me what is being discussed at the meeting, so I watched the meeting.” He said there was a discussion about a John Deere tractor, but only about one minute and ten seconds of discussion regarding the ordinance amendment. The resolution for the ordinance amendment was the very last page of the packet that you could read, but “that resolution wasn’t read.” He said Wethersfield School wasn’t notified about this discussion, and the green card was the first time he knew about the dispensary. “Just because we can do something, doesn’t mean that it’s right to do it.” Dr. Brooks said vapes are a problem in the school district, and most of the kids caught with vapes are under 18 years of age. Dr. Brooks also expressed concern for people walking by the school after leaving the dispensary. He said it may be secure inside the building, but they can’t guarantee security off the property.
Dr. Brooks said the school may need to consider no longer allowing open lunch breaks for Wethersfield students because of the dispensary. He said, “I don’t think it’s appropriate for it to be located that close.” Dr. Brooks asked the commission to respect the larger distance from the school and have the dispensary elsewhere.
A retired Illinois State Police trooper spoke about his experience working with drugs during his career in the Department of Criminal Investigations. “I find it unfortunate that our state government has decided that recreational use of cannabis should be legal.” “I’ve seen the devastation to the individual, to the family, and to the communities, caused by the recreational use of drugs.” He said, “Recreational drug users do a lot of experimenting.” He said, “In my experience, there is never a benefit to recreational drug use—never a benefit to the individual, to the community, to the family.”
A retired fireman/paramedic talked about how medical marijuana helps his pain so he doesn’t need to rely on opioids or OTC medications that can damage his liver. He must travel to Milan or Peoria to purchase medical marijuana. He said the building has been empty for three years, so let’s get a business in there.
