City of Princeton City Council met Sept. 3.
Here is the minutes provided by the council:
The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by Mayor Quiram. Upon roll call, the following answered present, constituting a quorum: Council Members Ray Swanson, Ray Mabry, Hector Gomez, and Jerry Neumann. All present at the meeting offered the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.
PUBLIC COMMENT: None.
MOTION # 1: Neumann (2nd Swanson) that the printed copy of the minutes for the Regular Meeting of August 19, 2019, be approved.
VOTE #1
ROLL CALL VOTE: Council Members Swanson, Mabry, Gomez, Neumann, and Mayor Quiram voted Aye. Motion declared carried.
MOTION # 2: Neumann (2nd Swanson) that the bills and payrolls of the Department of Public Affairs and Department of Accounts and Finance, the Department of Streets and Public Improvements, the Department of Public Health and Safety, and the Department of Utilities and Public Properties, be allowed and paid.
VOTE #2
ROLL CALL VOTE: Council Members Swanson, Mabry, Gomez, Neumann, and Mayor Quiram voted Aye. Motion declared carried.
MOTION #3: Neumann (2nd Swanson) that Ordinance 0-19-017 authorizing a sale of Lot 11 in the Princeton Technology Park to JCOO Properties, LLC, be approved to Second Reading.
VOTE # 3
ROLL CALL VOTE: Council Members Swanson, Gomez, Neumann, and Mayor Quiram voted Aye. Mabry abstained. Motion declared carried.
MOTION # 4: Neumann (2nd Swanson) that Ordinance 0-19-018 authorizing annexation of property to the City of Princeton, be approved to Second Reading.
VOTE #4
ROLL CALL VOTE: Council Members Swanson, Gomez, Neumann, and Mayor Quiram voted Aye. Mabry abstained. Motion declared carried.
CITY MANAGER REPORT: None.
MAYOR REPORT: Mayor Quiram initiated a discussion on the allowing marijuana dispensaries in the city, pursuant to the recently enacted Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act by the Illinois Legislature. Mabry commented that he had contacted community members in Geneseo who believed that allowing marijuana would be a moral issue and therefore oppose it. Mabry concurred. Gomez commented that he had seen the negative effects of use of marijuana in friends and family and that the acceptance of this sends a mixed message to youth. Gomez said he opposed the proliferation of marijuana. Quiram stated that the city had been forced into making these decisions by the state legislature's legalization of marijuana. In addition, informal polling indicated that the public was in favor of allowing a dispensary in Princeton. He mentioned that city officials are not advocating drug use. The question before the council really was to whom shall the tax dollars go. He believed Princeton ought to receive the tax money and therefore was in favor of not prohibiting dispensaries, Swanson commented on the reality was that it will be a legal activity on January 1, 2020. He believed the likelihood of anyone wanting to set up a dispensary in a small community like Princeton would be remote. But, he believed if a dispensary does come to town, then Princeton should be in position to accept the sales tax. Neumann reported that he had been struggling with this decision for a long time and was not ready to make a final decision. He said both sides of the issue have valid points. He believed that the moral implications of marijuana use should be managed by parents and families rather than the city council. He stated that the city should accept dispensary sales tax rather than allowing it to go to out of town. But he was not ready to give a final position.
Secondly, Mayor Quiram stated that the comments from the parking experiment on South Main St. and in front of the courthouse have been overwhelmingly positive. Therefore, he sought consensus to make permanent, the experimental configurations originally meant to be for 90 days. Consensus was given.
OLD BUSINESS: None.
NEW BUSINESS:
PUBLIC COMMENT: Kari Schier mentioned that Fulton, IL has had no problems with their dispensary. Jeremy Widmer wanted to explain that there was no real difference between a medical marijuana dispensary and a non-medical marijuana dispensary. He also suggested that the decisions made locally should be gauged by local morals rather than listening to other communities' experiences and making decisions based on the morals of other communities. Tom Root stated that when Colorado first legalized marijuana, it was enthusiastic about all the revenue it was going to generate. The following year, the governor of Colorado said that he regretted the decision to legalize marijuana because the state had seen a dramatic rise in impaired driving accidents by teens using marijuana. Suzie Bishop stated her opposition to marijuana use in
Princeton. T.J. Alvarado disputed the Colorado statistics previously mentioned by Tom Root. Mayor Quiram mentioned that he had read independent studies on marijuana use rather than
studies paid for by groups of bias.
MOTION #4: Neumann (2nd Swanson) that the Regular Meeting be adjourned. The next Regular Meeting of the City Council on Monday, September 16, 2019, 7:00 p.m. at City Hall.
VOTE #4
ROLL CALL VOTE: Council Members Swanson, Mabry, Gomez, Neumann, and Mayor Quiram voted Aye. Motion declared carried. Adjournment at 7:38 p.m.
https://www.princeton-il.com/forms/meetings/1/M-09-03-2019.pdf
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