WILTON — The Select Board on Monday night approved a public hearing for Nov. 17 on license applications for three medical marijuana cultivators.
The board had discussed holding a hearing at the last meeting but never made a motion to move forward due to concerns regarding license limitations in the town ordinance. Instead, the Select Board deliberated amending the ordinance before granting more licenses.
In response, cultivator Robert Dapolito emailed the board Oct. 22, asking selectpersons to reconsider setting a public hearing date. He said he and the other two applicants had followed protocol and felt they were being penalized by the town for its shortsightedness on license limitations.
The growers had appeared before the Planning Board and underwent a site review prior to applying with the Select Board for their Tier 1 medical marijuana licenses. A Tier 1 license is defined by the town ordinance in Article 10, Section E as up to 30 mature plants and an unlimited number of immature plants and seedlings or up to 500 square feet of plant canopy. The licensing fee for Tier 1 is $250.
The board also approved adjusting the transfer station hours on Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. so people have more daylight to dispose of trash. The change will begin Nov. 18.
In other business, the board approved Bernstein Shur as the town’s legal services firm, which has been its representative for about 45 years. Selectpersons Tiffany Maiuri and Phil Hilton, and Town Manager Rhonda Irish had formed a subcommittee to review three different legal firms, Bernstein Shur, Rudman and Winchell, and Jensen Baird Gardner & Henry.
Irish told the board that Bernstein Shur had excellent experience in advising on municipal matters.
Maiuri said out of the three firms, Bernstein Shur had the best price for services, including a five-hour free consultation, attending Select Board meetings, hosting workshops and offering a fixed hourly rate until 2023. The rate is $205 per hour until June 30, 2023.
Jensen Baird Gardner & Henry’s hourly rate was $275 and Rudman and Winchall’s was $195. The other two firms did not offer a fixed hourly rate.
Irish informed the board that people may experience longer waits for voting at the Town Office, which will be open Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Irish also arranged for a squad truck from the Fire Department to keep its scene lights shining on the parking lot throughout the evening.
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