The long-discussed recreational marijuana resolution is on Pontiac City Council’s agenda for tonight’s meeting.
The second reading of the adult-use ordinance was postponed until this year, at the council’s Dec. 20 meeting. The board will meet in a closed session to discuss a legal opinion on the proposed regulation before voting on the second reading.
Voters in 2018 approved the sale of cannabis in the city, but no shops have yet opened, though 20 facilities have initial approvals. Among the delays is a market so saturated, shop owners want to provide recreational as well as medical marijuana. Consumers have fewer requirements to buy recreational marijuana.
Among the changes to the proposed ordinance is to include police background checks on applicants who may not live in the US and rules for holding a temporary event.
Other resolutions on tonight’s agenda include:
• Setting 2023 rules for council and electing a board president and president pro-tem. Councilmen Mike McGuinness and William served as 2022’s president and pro-tem, respectively.
• Accepting a $100,000 allocation to the Pontiac Arts Commission is also on the agenda. Oakland County Commissioner Angela Powell, D-Pontiac, announced the grant, which is drawn from the county’s special projects fund, at the council’s Dec. 20 meeting.
Powell said she pursued the funding after Irma Hayes, who chairs the arts commission, approached her to request $25,000.
“We had some extra funding left and I was blessed to have the commission body approve $100,000,” Powell said, adding that her intent is to ask for at least $50,000 annually for the city arts commission while she holds her commission seat.
The city’s arts commission was established by the city’s charter, which has been in effect since 1982. The city charter is currently the subject of meetings by Pontiac’s charter revision commission.
The arts commission organizes and runs such city events as the summer concert series as well as the annual arts crawl.
In addition to voting to put the money into the city’s arts commission account, council will also amend this year’s budget, to allow the money to be used for city arts programming.
• A decision to increase fees paid for Microsoft licenses from $29,453 a year to $33,214 and 12 for a total of 142, expanding the contract to include 2023 fees.
• An agreement for a pedestrian skywalk easement and maintenance agreement at South Boulevard and Bradford Street.
• Increasing the city’s cable division budget: $58,910 for video equipment; $2,000 for computer supplies; $1,000 for operating supplies; $6,500 for building addition and improvements; and $4,000 for furniture and fixtures.
• Discussing federal funding for renovating Bagley Street and Golf Drive.
• A second closed session is devoted to a discussion on real estate and a legal opinion on a settlement strategy with pending litigation. State law requires that council members only deliberate in the closed session. Decisions must be voted on in an open session, according to Michigan’s Open Meetings Act.
Pontiac’s 66th city council session is at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 3, in the chambers on city hall’s second floor, at 47450 Woodward Ave. in Pontiac. The complete agenda is online at https://files4.1.revize.com/pontiac/councilagendapack-010323.pdf. The proposed adult-use marijuana ordinance is on page 43 of the Dec. 20 meeting packet, online at https://files4.1.revize.com/pontiac/councilagendapack-122022.pdf.
