(Photos Source: Unsplash).
A duo of Marathon residents are pushing for more community involvement, one of them being an attempt to overturn a recent local law in the village.
Betsy Penrose and Terriann Montoya, both village natives (but permanent residents for less than a year), are pushing forward a petition to lift the prohibition of marijuana-based dispensaries and on-site consumption establishments in the village.
On Monday, Penrose said in a message to the Cortland Voice that her and Montoya reached their goal for signatures. They both have been going door-to-door for the past few weeks, meeting people they’ve “never met before,” Montoya said.
Their initial goal was to get to 117 signatures. Penrose and Montoya succeeded, and currently have 120.
Penrose and Montoya have until Friday to submit the petition to village officials. So far, the signature process has been “a success” as the “support continues to grow,” Penrose said.
Betsy Penrose. (Photo Source: Betsy Penrose).
The petition gives the village a chance to hold a special local election at a date yet to be determined to give residents an opportunity to vote if marijuana-based retail sales should continue to be banned or not, mayor Bill McGovern said. The deadline for the issue to appear on the ballot at the Nov. 2 election was in August, McGovern added, so a special election “is the way to go.”
On Sept. 1, McGovern and the village board of trustees voted to disallow marijuana-based retail sales. The decision came following a public hearing in August where over a dozen village residents expressed their desire to allow marijuana-based retail sales in the area.
The move by the board prompted Montoya and Penrose to not only get a petition signed to legalize marijuana-based retail sales in the village, but to provide education on the matter.
“I don’t think the board voted in favor of what the community wanted,” Penrose said.
“We feel there’s been an overwhelming response to the contrary,” Montoya said.
TeriAnn Montoya. (Photo Source: TeriAnn Montoya).
Penrose and Montoya also started a private group page on Facebook that welcomes all village residents to discuss the situation with marijuana-based retail sales and community news as a whole.
So far, the group has over 170 members, Montoya said. She added that based on a recent Facebook poll, about 3% of the group opposed the petition.
“We purposely invited people to the group who opposed it,” Montoya said. “We are like-minded and have actual, genuine discussions in the group. All opinions matter.”
McGovern said for the village residents who want to see dispensaries and on-site consumption establishments in the area, they will have a “long wait.”
New York state Gov. Kathy Hochul made appointments for the recently-established Office of Cannabis Management on Sept. 1 and Sept. 22. Since the department is new to the state, McGovern believes further marijuana-based policies, guidelines and laws won’t go into effect “until mid-to-late next year.”
“I don’t think (marijuana-based retail sales) is going to be a windfall in terms of revenue and tax money,” McGovern said. “Cities, counties and the state will benefit from it, but not towns or villages like Marathon.”
Penrose said residents are signing the petition due to the belief that “five members shouldn’t be representing the village with something like this.”
“(The residents) want a voice and an opinion on the vote,” Penrose said.
“The board hears the words ‘weed and pot,’ but they miss the reason for medicinal purposes through cannabis,” Montoya said.
Montoya added that she believes the board members are “intelligent people,” but “It’s a matter of educating people on the use and the revenue for the community, and removing the stigma involved around recreational and medicinal use.”
Penrose said the local law currently in place refrains people from starting their own business.
“They have the right to try,” she said. “If it’s successful, it benefits the community in a big way.”
Penrose added, “We need a lifeline in the community. Some of our businesses are struggling through the (COVID-19) pandemic. We don’t have any new strings of income coming in.”
