Alexander Calkins was in attendance at the Feb. 12 council meeting to discuss his new marijuana growth operation proposed for 1720 3rd Avenue.
Calkins applied for the discretionary use application at the end of December to bring the operation to Humboldt through his company Cannadabis Medical, a privately run family business.
With city approval, the 5,300 square foot facility will be used to produce CBD and THC cannabis flowers for wholesale distribution, says Calkins.
Five to 10 local jobs will be immediately created by the plant in the first phase with up to 100 new jobs coming to the facility in the future when they reach full manufacturing potential.
Under Health Canada regulations, three production standards must be in place for the facility to operate; a fence perimeter, 24 manned surveillance and extensive video coverage both inside and outside the facility, and HVAC systems in the facility guarentee that no odors or particulates leave the facility, says Calkins.
Without these regulations in place, the facility would not be allowed to operate, he says.
Production will be eventually expanded to include cannabis oils as well as equipment development, such as social systems and biomass generators.
Cannabis is their opportunity is provide funding for innovations in other industries, he says.
Calkins says he is looking forward to living and contributing to the community with plans to move his family into Humboldt once the project is approved.
There are currently facilities in both Yorkton and Saskatoon who have been consulted by Anthony Andre, Planning Coordinator with the City of Humboldt. Andre reported during the meeting that he has discussed the issue with the City of Yorkton on their grow-op operation and they have not had any problems, including with odor with the operation being close to a residential area.
With some councillors having security concerns, Calkins reported that, according to Health Canada, there have been not instances of products ending up on black market.
Council took the discretionary use application to a vote shortly after Calkins finished his presentation.
Councillors passed the motion five to none with two councillors not in attendance.
According to Andre, councillors can control the timeline of the project and will be consulted of every phase of the project.
Two members of the community were in attendance and acting city clerk, Julieann Dressler, reported that no one wrote into the city to speak on the matter.
In the same meeting, SLGA has sent a letter to the council regarding the cannabis retail selection process and licensing for marijuana retailers within the City of Humboldt.
Council can say no to a marijuana retailer if they so choose. The letter from the SLGA, “will issue permits and serve as regulator with the private sector responsible for wholesaling and retailing cannabis in our province,” said the letter.
As stated by SLGA, Humboldt is eligible to obtain a license for a marijuana retailer, however, “we are giving eligible municipalities the choice to opt out of the initial allocation of retail permits, if they so choose.”
While councillors will be able to opt out of receiving the retailer license, council does want the public’s input. However, any resolution or bylaw pertaining to opting out of receiving a license has to be received from SLGA by Feb. 28. At the time of the meeting, the letter was just received for information, therefore they are not opting out at this time.
Before decisions are made around retailers and marijuana bylaws, City Manager Joe Day says they will have to wait to see what the provincial and the federal government is doing.
