County increases fees for cannabis businesses

During their Aug. 4 meeting, members of the Waseca County Board of Commissioners approved a fee schedule for cannabis businesses in the county which will double registration costs from $500 to $1000 between their first year of business and subsequent years. The new schedule also lists registration fees for a wider range of businesses.

 

Planning and zoning administrator Tina Wilson informed commissioners that, to date, she has worked with three businesses, all growers, who are located or will be locating within the unincorporated areas of the county. All three have not paid any registration fees because they were among the business types the county had not yet established a fee for.

 

Prior to the adoption of the new schedule, only retailers and “mezzobusinesses” would have paid a registration fee of $500 in unincorporated areas of Waseca County; businesses in other categories, including microbusiness, cultivator, manufacturer, wholesaler, transporter, testing facility, delivery service, and medical cannabis combination business were listed as “no charge.”

 

As of Aug. 4, new registrations for all types of licenses must pay an initial fee of $500 and then an annual renewal cost of $1,000. Wilson told commissioners these were the maximum amounts permitted under state law, and that many counties statewide were adopting them.

 

Board member Brian Harguth stated objections to the proposed new schedule, saying that the state office of cannabis management (OCM) “sat on its hands” and did not issue timely permission to the growers located within the county. “They won’t be getting any kind of harvest any more this year,” he stated.

 

Because of that, he said he could not vote for a schedule which would double their registration costs in year two.

 

Board chair De Malterer countered with the point that those currently growing within the county were not charged registration fees, but the county invested staff time not only from the planning and zoning department, but will have to provide required compliance checks and possibly increased enforcement.

 

After lengthy discussion, the new fee schedule was adopted with only Harguth voting against it; county administrator Michael Johnson made the point that the entire fee schedule must be reviewed and approved at the start of 2027, and that if commissioners wished, there was nothing to keep them from reviewing and changing the fees at that time.

 

Board members heard from Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) president and CEO Benya Kraus.

 

SMIF is a philanthropic organization with its main office in Owatonna that serves 20 counties in the southeast portion of the state. The organization is celebrating its fortieth year. Kraus stated it was founded in the 1980s, “during the heart of the farm crisis.” 

 

After mentioning that SMIF has issued 51 low interest loans, given 243 grants, and “invested” a total of $5.5 million in Waseca County through grants, loans and programming, Kraus asked commissioners to continue supporting the agency with county appropriations. The county currently contributes $2,700 a year. Kraus stated that all 20 counties within its area of operation have elected to make contributions of this type.

 

Board members accepted the $25,000 offer–the stated minimum bid–of Alton Township property owner Jeff Huelsnitz, who owns property adjacent to a piece of land the county offered for sale. The 20-acre parcel had been donated to the county in the past with the stipulation that it be maintained in its natural wooded state, but it was not a candidate for development or improvement because it is “landlocked,” that is, property surrounding it is under private ownership and there is no public access route.

 

Under state law, the county could offer the land only to parties who own the contiguous parcels; in this case, four neighbors. Following procedures required by the state, the county had previously offered those property owners a chance to buy the land first at its assessed value, then at a reduced percentage of the assessed value, and now, for the third round, at a minimum bid selected by the commissioners: $25,000.

 

The county also accepted a bid of about $480,000 to replace two culverts located under Old Highway 14, one at the Steele County line and the other about 1 mile east of Crystal Valley. The winning contractor is Selly Excavating of LeCenter; as part of a statewide bridge maintenance program, the entire cost of the work will be refunded by the state.