By Carol Britton Meyer 

The select board unanimously agreed to enter into a Host Community Agreement with Alternative Compassion Services, Inc. to sell retail marijuana in addition to the medical marijuana that has been sold at its 175 George Washington Blvd. location for the past 2-1/2 years.

Town meeting earlier authorized allowing up to two retail marijuana establishments in town.

The select board this week interviewed ACS President Stephen Werther and Anthony Ghosn of Skarr Inc. – who owns both Mambo’s restaurant at 269 Nantasket Avenue and Tipsy Tuna across the street – after each submitted a non-binding “Marijuana Retail Establishment Plan” in response to a request for information for those interested in entering into an HCA with the town.

A third application is in the works but is not yet complete. No further details were provided.

Because ACS has had no issues since it moved to Hull and the business has already been vetted by the Cannabis Control Commission, board members said they felt comfortable entering into an agreement, which will be negotiated by town counsel, that night. ACS’s application consisted of 124 pages.

“They’re shovel-ready and have more than done their homework,” board member Greg Grey said. “Let’s not delay it.”

Once the HCA is negotiated and signed by the select board, planning board site plan and special permit approval is required; or in this case, amendments to the existing ones relevant to the new license. Then the application is submitted to the state Cannabis Control Commission for approval.

Click here for the full application submitted by ACS

Click here for the full application submitted by Skarr

The question arose following the interviews as to whether entering into an HCA with ACS would allow for that retail license to be wrapped into ACS’s existing medical marijuana license, leaving one available license. If not, both licenses would be used up.

Until this issue is resolved, the select board didn’t feel comfortable issuing a second license.

Kate Feodoroff of Mead, Talerman & Costa, LLC – recently hired as town counsel – was present and will have an answer for the board by its November 20 meeting. She also will research the limitations regarding hours of operation.

Chair Irwin Nesoff told Ghosn that this issue “doesn’t close [the process] for you; we just need that answer.”

During his interview, Ghosn explained that he was a licensed medical marijuana cultivator and caregiver for a number of years in Rhode Island. In that role, he cultivated marijuana for four patients. In 2015, he got out of that program and moved to Massachusetts.

He is proposing to open a retail marijuana establishment in a new building to the right of Mambo’s.

Both Nesoff and board member Jerry Taverna expressed appreciation to Ghosn for wanting to continue doing business in Hull.

The town uses the RFI submittal to gauge interest and to determine the suitability of the respondents.

The information provided is then evaluated by the select board in consultation with the town manager and town counsel, with input from the police and fire chiefs and other town department heads, to conduct a preliminary review of the applications.

Upon completion of this review, the town manager presents her findings to the board and makes recommendations regarding which, if any, respondents should receive further consideration for interviews and a final review.

Following analysis of the RFI submittals, the town reserves the right to enter into Host Community Agreement negotiations with selected respondents after conducting public interviews, which was the case Wednesday night with ACS.

Applicants are also asked to provide their financials, including projected revenues and expenses, a business model, security and marketing plans, the scope of operations, and any noise, odor, or neighborhood impacts or any impacts to the town’s resources, site details, a community outreach plan including educating the public, parking details, and other information. Abutter notification is part of the process.

Under state law, the town is also required to adopt social equity policy by next May, which doesn’t apply now but will at that time. This relates to a requirement to give preference to certain applicants seeking HCAs, especially those “who were disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs [and its ongoing effects],” Mead, Talerman & Costa Attorney Liz Lydon explained.

Selected respondents to the RFI may be invited to negotiate a Host Community Agreement with the select board. If one is reached, the applicant is required to seek a special permit and site plan review by the planning board of the site, traffic circulation, and compliance with earlier town meeting votes, the town’s general and zoning bylaws, and review by the Cannabis Control Commission.

The select board is also expected to conduct its own review before entering into such an agreement to ensure that any proposed operation is “appropriately located for the needs of the town; will have appropriate staff, facilities, operational plans, business plans, and sufficient funding; and will operate with sufficient technical skill, business competence, and financial reserves.”

This is meant to ensure that the Town of Hull “will not be required to cope with underperformance or closure of an inappropriately sited marijuana treatment center, loss of jobs, inability to generate projected community impact fees, and cost to the town of dealing with a marijuana enterprise that faces loss of funding, bankruptcy, or other threats to its operation.”

A replay of the full meeting will be available on Hull Community Television’s broadcast channels and on demand at www.hulltv.net.

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