City of Norway gives extension to marijuana dispensary

NORWAY — Scott Dianda from Tranquility Fields appeared before Norway City Council via Zoom on Wednesday to request an extension for the opening of a marijuana dispensary he is building.

The city marijuana ordinance requires that establishments be operational within 180 days of their license being issued. That would have meant Tranquility Fields needed to be open by Jan. 1. If they were not able to be open by that date, they needed to file for a one-time extension.

City Manager Dan Stoltman noted that construction of the facility was well underway and recommended the council approve an extension until June 1 when Tranquility Fields’ license is up for renewal.

Members of the council wanted to know if the deadline to open was Jan. 1, why was this coming before the board on Jan. 17.

“I just do not like that two weeks or whatever we are on the 17th of January, going over an extension that was due on Jan. 1,” Mayor Pro Tem Scott Popp said.

Popp also noted that Tranquility Fields had promised to be open much sooner.

“Did they say it would be a month after starting the building would be up and complete? That was one of the things that sold me on them,” Popp said.

Dianda apologized to the council, saying there was a mixup and he did not completely understand the process for applying for the extension. Delays with the contractor and going with a stick-built structure, as opposed to a modular one, had put them behind, he said.

Dianda added he hopes to be open for business by April 1.

A motion to grant Tranquility Fields an extension until June 1 passed with Popp voting no.

The council, in another matter, tabled a proposal to replace the well house flow meters at a cost of $55,000.

The project was to be done with $100,000 in American Rescue Plan funds the city received from Dickinson County that needs to be spent by the end of the year.

Stoltman stated over the last year there have been discussions on the accuracy of the water pumped versus water treated and that the city has been chasing water loss looking for line breaks and other reasons. However, if the numbers from the source are wrong, any potential water loss would be hard to determine.

The one bid the city has for the meter replacement comes from FDS Engineering and Electrical Services of Iron Mountain.

Council Member Jeff Muraro inquired to Stoltman if the bid included the costs of engineering and certification, to which Stoltman could not answer.

The council agreed to table any action until FDS could be brought in to clarify questions the council has with the bid.