Marijuana business is part of the discussion at recent conference attended by County Clerk’s staff

By Laura Schiermeier, Staff Writer
Posted 10/23/19

VIENNA — Maries County Clerk Rhonda Rodgers and Clerk’s Deputy Renee Kottwitz recently attended a human resources conference in Columbia. They usually attend this conference and said this …

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Marijuana business is part of the discussion at recent conference attended by County Clerk’s staff

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VIENNA — Maries County Clerk Rhonda Rodgers and Clerk’s Deputy Renee Kottwitz recently attended a human resources conference in Columbia. They usually attend this conference and said this year it was more interesting than usual, mainly due to what they learned about dealing with the new and growing medical marijuana industry in Missouri. One of the things they learned is the county can issue licenses for medical marijuana businesses and that will take place in the county clerk’s office.

Some of the information Rodgers and Kottwitz shared with the county commissioners is the state had 2,242 applications for marijuana business licenses with 600 of those applications being pre-filed. There will be only 348 licenses issued and the state has collected over $13 million in application fees, none of which will be refunded to those applicants who do not secure licenses. The license applications cost up to $10,000 each.

If a marijuana company earns a license to operate in Maries County, the county can charge for a license as well and it could be at the same rate as what the state charged. It is possible Maries County may be location for a marijuana cultivation and infused product manufacturing because three companies have applied for licenses. One is in Vienna where Hippos, LLC has applied for three cultivation and six infused product manufacture licenses. Fruition Farm, Highway 28, Dixon, has applied for licenses for cultivation and infused product manufacture. Tranquil Acres, Inc. in the Belle area has applied for two cultivation licenses and one application for infused product manufacture. The marijuana infused products include candles and brownies.

The medical marijuana industry is overseen by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. There will be ten testing facilities. The state will award 348 licenses, which will be 192 for dispensaries, 60 for cultivation facilities, and 86 for manufacturing facilities. On Dec. 31, 2019 the state will announce which companies receive the licenses.

Rodgers said in the presentations they heard, patients can purchase medical marijuana after receiving a prescription from a doctor. Most hospitals will not be involved with medical marijuana because marijuana is still illegal on the federal level and hospitals receive federal payments they don’t want jeopardized. Because of the big money involved in this emerging industry, it is drawing participants from up and down the spectrum, including doctors who will leave hospitals and become part of the marijuana business.

Rodgers said they were told at the conference that the $25  medical marijuana card people are getting does nothing. Eastern District Commissioner Doug Drewel asked how many people it will take to run one of these marijuana operations and how many jobs it will create. No one knew. Western District Commissioner Ed Fagre said the marijuana businesses can’t use banks because marijuana is an illegal drug at the federal level and banks are part of the FDIC insurance program. He’s heard they can use credit unions and savings and loan companies though.

Rodgers said with a prescription card for $100 from the state, people can grow their own marijuana. They are allowed to have up to six plants and every plant is tagged and identified. People with marijuana prescriptions can have up to four ounces of marijuana a month. Also, a care giver to a person who uses medical marijuana will need a $25 card.

About the county licenses, Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman asked if the county will have to establish guidelines. Rodgers said no, just addressing it with personnel policies. She said an employer has to say they have observed an employee being under the influence of marijuana. Stratman said all counties and places of employment will have to address the issues the new medical marijuana law has created.

Kottwitz said she learned a lot at the conference. One thing is that she thought marijuana was just one kind of plant, but they were told there are 779 strains of marijuana.

Railroad and Utilities

Rodgers said she has finished the billing for the county’s Railroad & Utilities tax bills, both state assessed the local assessed. The grand total for 2019 is $797,757.01.

Only a portion of these taxes go to the county as they are dispersed to all of the taxing entities in the county with the school district receiving the lion’s share. Utility and railroad companies and their Maries County tax bills include: MO Central Railroad Company $877.51; Centurylink Communications, Inc. $4,342.63; Centurytel of MO $39,822.20; EMBARQ Missouri, Inc. $3,671.02; MCI Communications Services, Inc. $3,438.31; Sho-Me Technologies, LLC $4,406.03; Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. $34,315.93; Windstream KDL, Inc. $2,223.10; Windstream MO, Inc. $10,976.87; Union Electric Co. DBA Ameren Missouri $311,354.63; Explorer Pipeline Co. $188,927.58; MPLX Ozark Pipeline, LLC $156,678.77; and Phillips 66 Pipeline, LLC $36,722.43.

Brush Cutter

Fagre said the Road One brush cutter outfit is back in business and out on the roads. The first day the new outfit was used the front windshield of the tractor was busted by an errant rock. Fagre was hoping to have a bulletproof windshield installed; the brush-facing side of the tractor has bulletproof glass there. But, he said they don’t make windshields like that for this tractor and it has a regular windshield instead.

AT&T

Difficulties continue with a persistent AT&T bill that county officials asked to have disconnected. Ironically, its a phone number (573-422-6351) that when called, it rings and rings, but nobody knows where this particular telephone is and a county employee certainly does not answer it. Several people have worked on this project trying to get this phone number disconnected. Repair men from AT&T have even shown up unannounced to repair the line that the county wants disconnected. The bill for that line continues to arrive in the mail just fine, however.

Treasurer Rhonda Slone said she sent a letter asking the phone line be disconnected and IT Technician Shane Sweno has spent multiple hours on the phone trying to get resolution.

Stratman talked to AT&T for quite a while on Thursday, with much of that time on hold. He said he was told to call back. He said they told him Oct. 9 is the disconnect date AT&T has and the company wants the bill paid up to that date. The county initiated disconnection of the line in July. The bills range from $218 to $1,065.

Fagre said he probably will have the AT&T phone disconnected at Road One because the cost is $142 each month to have the land line. The Road One crew mostly talk to each other on the radios or their cell phones.

Drug Screening

Rodgers said Maries County has met all of its drug screening requirements for the year and she wondered if they should skip it in December. The screening is done one time each quarter by Columbia Drug Screening.

Fagre said he thinks they should go ahead and do it. Eastern District Commissioner Doug Drewel said they test the same people all the time. “What good does it do?” he asked. Rodgers said they might start using. “You can tell,” Drewel said.

Odometer Reading

Stratman said the new state law about licensing vehicles and not requiring a vehicle inspection on vehicles less than 10 years old or less than 150,000 miles has brought about some minor changes and some confusion in the local license office. People have to bring their odometer readings on the vehicle to be licensed, along with their personal property tax receipts, proof of insurance and renewal card. This information has not been updated on the renewal cards the state sends out. People are coming to the license office without it.

Drug Dog

The Maries County Sheriff’s Office is getting a new drug dog as the other dog, Rico, has died. The insurance money through MOPERM received for Rico was enough to pay for the new dog, a $10,000 purchase from Ventosa Kennel Police K9 Training, Inc. in Scotland Neck, North Carolina. Deputy Mark Morgan will take six weeks of training as a handler at the North Carolina kennel. Stratman noted the price of the dog includes classes and lodging for Morgan who will be “tied up for six weeks” while he takes the dog handler course.