Village says ‘no’ to pot shops

BELLAIRE – In addition to taking care of several administrative and employee-related business items at its regular business meeting last week, the Bellaire Village Council heard a presentation from Gourdie-Fraser engineer Jennifer Hodges and approved an ordinance banning marijuana shops.

The first new ordinance of 2019, the ban on marijuana shops was approved without comment or discussion, although the vote was not unanimous. Trustees Dan Bennett and Bryan Hardy, along with Village Council President David Schulz, all voted against the motion put forward by trustee David Ciganick, supported by trustee Patricia Drollinger – both of whom voted in favor of the ordinance, as did trustees Eldon McPherson and Helen Schuckel.

Telling those in attendance that he believed she could be very helpful in gaining improvement grants and low-interest loans for the village, Schulz introduced Hodges. The engineer explained her efforts in the last few years to assist both Central Lake and East Jordan with a number of improvements, including an almost complete re-vamp of Central Lake's water system, and extensive improvements to the village's Thurston Park Campground.

"I've tried to keep an eye out for grants and programs that come down the pike from the State of Michigan and the federal government that would benefit those towns," Hodges said, noting that just recently Central Lake had been awarded a small grant that will help with the renovation of sidewalks in the village.

"As we worked on these projects, a lot of questions would come up, so I took to attending monthly meetings, and will be doing the same with Bellaire," she added.

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