ALBION — The Select Board has given its approval for two proposed ordinances to go before Albion voters at the Town Meeting in March, one for the licensing of marijuana and the other for a solar moratorium.
Both ordinances were proposed by the Planning Board, which held a public hearing earlier this month, and approved for a town vote by the Select Board on Monday, according to Select Board Chairman Brent Brockway.
If approved by residents, the marijuana licensing ordinance would be the first of its kind in Albion. It would create an application process for growing, manufacturing and testing of medical marijuana. It would also establish a process for two retail medical marijuana stores to open, but not in the town’s village district.
The ordinance would not allow for the sale of recreational marijuana.
The solar ordinance would create a one-year moratorium on large-scale commercial solar projects. At the earlier public hearing, Planning Board members said they wanted the moratorium to give them time to understand how to regulate such projects.
The town’s annual budget warrant is expected to be finalized in February and put to a public vote in March, Brockway said.
Voters in March are also expected to fill two seats on the Select Board, one a three-year term and the other a two-year term. The nomination period for the seats ended earlier this week, and one candidate filed papers for each position.
Michael Gardner is running for the three-year seat on the board. He said he hopes to help move the town forward. Having lived in Albion for 18 years, he said he is retiring early and will have time to take on the role, which has always intrigued him.
“I’m going to have time on my hands and I feel like I can help the town,” Gardner said. “I really love our little town of Albion and want to keep it strong.”
Michael Getchell is running for the two-year seat on the board, returning after he stepped down several years ago. He served on the board for seven years and, after seeing much turnover, decided he would like to return to his former position.
Having already been a member of the Select Board, Getchell said he understands how much work the position requires.
“Most people don’t have the time for it,” he said. “I do have the time and I think I’ll do a good job for the town.”
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