The Dillingham City Council announced a series of neighborhood meetings for the end of April, inviting the public to discuss current and future issues related to marijuana regulations.
Mayor Alice Ruby says that since November, the council has been dealing with "housekeeping" items relating to marijuana -- including problems of public use and underage use -- but it has yet to delve into issues of commercial sale.
"We've had a couple people show up at council meetings prepared to testify on commercial issues," Mayor Ruby said, "and I felt bad because we're just not there yet."
The late April neighborhood meetings will open the conversation on commercial marijuana, providing Dillingham residents an opportunity to air their concerns, questions, and opinions in small group settings.
Ruby said the neighborhood discussions will be open-ended, addressing issues relating to both marijuana and city finances.
She also noted it is too early to make any specific decisions about commercial marijuana. The state has until late this fall to develop regulations on commercial marijuana, which will in turn affect how communities make rules about commercial operations.
One factor to be decided in Juneau is whether communities will have to opt in or opt out of commercial marijuana sales. That distinction -- in or out -- will likely frame local conversations in the future, but it's not clear whether the Legislature will resolve that question by April 19, the end of this session.
The city is also waiting to see how imminent state budget cuts will affect Dillingham. "The revenue climate is just so sensitive with cuts coming out of Juneau that trickle down to us," Mayor Ruby said, "… eventually we're going to have to make some decisions." She says the City Council wants to start early to find out where Dillingham residents might want to go with marijuana laws when the dust finally settles in Juneau.
Ruby added that City Manager Rose Loera is currently putting together a financial "snapshot" of Dillingham, to give people an idea of the city's revenue sources and the range of public services it provides. That report should be ready by the April meetings.
The meetings are scheduled for 6 p.m. on April 27 at the Anchor of Hope Assembly of God, April 28 at the Community Baptist Church, April 29 at Dillingham Trinity Lutheran Church, and April 30 at the Bristol Bay Housing Authority.
This story first appeared in The Bristol Bay Times/Dutch Harbor Fisherman and is republished here with permission.