Woolwich selectmen accepted an application Monday night, March 15 from Farley’s Cannabis Farm to switch from selling medical to recreational marijuana products. A public hearing to discuss the change was set for 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 20.

The board voted unanimously to accept the application filed by residents Fred King and Sayra Small who opened Farley’s Cannabis Farm, a licensed medical marijuana dispensary in 2014. The family-owned business is at 127 Main St. in a former garage they renovated. Along with medical marijuana, they also sell CDB products including tinctures and lotions.

King told the board there would not be any changes to the store’s appearance, although they would be adding more security.

Code Enforcement Officer Bruce Engert said the application was complete, King and Small having provided all of the required documentation. “They’ve complied with everything we’ve asked them for,” he told the board. King and Small had previously reviewed their proposal with the planning board. They can continue operating under their present license as a medical marijuana dispensary until their recreational retail license gets final approval from the town and state.

The business is Woolwich’s first retail one to apply for approval to sell marijuana products for recreational use. Ordinances voters approved last year limit the number of retail stores selling recreational marijuana to three.

Referendum vote

Voters head to the polls Wednesday, March 17 to consider amendments to the planning ordinance. A referendum question seeks to clarify the relationship between marijuana cultivation in the rural district, and businesses permitted as home occupations. If approved, marijuana cultivation facilities would be considered an agribusiness, “retaining the current restrictions limiting these facilities to the town’s Rural and General-Purpose Districts.”

Selectmen’s Chairman David King Sr. told Wiscasset Newspaper the changes are needed before Sea Grass Group can get final local and state licensing for its proposed marijuana cultivation business on Sam Moore Road. In January, the business requested conditional approval to move forward with plans for its facility that includes construction of a 7,000-square-foot greenhouse set back 300 feet from the road. The business will be strictly wholesale, Sea Grass Group told the selectboard.

King said due to COVID-19 restrictions, the board opted to hold a referendum vote. Those who have not already voted by absentee ballot can vote when the polls open at 8 a.m. the day of the election. “They’ll remain open until 6 p.m., when the moderator will open a town meeting for discussion and for those who want to vote in person,” he explained.

“The intent is to clear up the ambiguities with the current ordinances,” added King.

The board is considering moving its annual town meeting from May to June if the state lifts COVID-19 restrictions. Then the meeting could be indoors. The meeting must be held before June 30, the end of the 2020-2021 fiscal year.

Road Commissioner Jack Shaw said maintaining the town’s eight miles of dirt roads gets harder every year. Again this spring, large sections of Chop Point Road have become nearly impossible to drive over due to the mud, he said. A number of vehicles got stuck during a recent warm spell. Shaw recommended placing 2,500 yards of gravel to shore up the road surface.

“We need to address Chop Point Road,” said Shaw, who worried about emergency vehicles using the road. The board is considering adding an article seeking an another $30,000 for road improvements.

North Woolwich Methodist Church has offered to host the town’s Memorial Day service on May 31. The board agreed on the condition that pandemic restrictions have been lifted.

Jonathan Appleyard, chair of the solid waste and recycling committee, will help the board in its effort to reduce the cost of curbside trash pickup. The volume of weekly trash has gone up steadily in the pandemic. More recycling and composting would reduce the trash tonnage, said Appleyard. He added, the committee would help spread the word to residents.

“Often the problem is the people who haven’t gotten the message,” he said.