Etna Township prohibits marijuana growers, dispensaries in Jeff Johnson's last meeting

Commercial marijuana businesses will not be allowed to operate in Etna Township after a recent vote from the township trustees.

The Etna Township Trustees voted 2-1 Tuesday to prohibit adult-use marijuana cultivators, processors and dispensaries from operating within the township. Trustee Mark Evans voted against the resolution.

Medical marijuana became legal in Ohio in 2016, but Ohio voters just approved the legalization of recreational marijuana for those 21 and older 57-43% in the Nov. 7 general election.

Township Administrator Nita Hanson said during the meeting that the resolution only controls commercial operations.

"It doesn't have any impact on any personal use. It's just for the commercial operations related to adult-use cannabis," she said.

None of the trustees spoke about the resolution during the meeting.

Trustee Jeff Johnson, who was joined by Trustee Rozland McKee in voting in favor of the ban, said after the meeting that when he moved to Etna Township more than 35 years ago, it was a dry township.

"Then the alcohol came, and I don't think it benefited (the township) at all," he said. "I don't think the marijuana facilities be in here, selling, will be a benefit at all.

Evans said after the meeting that there wasn't enough information or evidence to prohibit marijuana businesses. Evans said he would need to dive into the local election results to see how Etna residents voted on the statewide issue.

"I didn't know that was going to be on the agenda until yesterday, so I wasn't able to do enough due diligence," he said. "I couldn't vote for something in that respect."

The trustees were expected to talk about the ban at their last meeting on Dec. 5 but opted not to as the state legislature was debating changes to the law.

Etna Township isn't the first Licking County community to limit marijuana businesses. Just a day before, Newark City Council approved a six-month moratorium on new locations dispensing recreational marijuana but exempted the three current medical marijuana dispensaries from the legislation.

Etna Township Trustees didn't approve a 2024 budget

Just like last year, the trustees didn't approve a budget for 2024 during their last meeting of the year.

A vote to approve a permanent budget for 2024 failed 1-2, with Johnson and McKee voting against it.

McKee said she was not in favor of approving at budget at that time. Johnson, who leaves office Dec. 31, said he didn't feel right approving a budget for a time when he would no longer be a township official.

Evans said there was no reason for the trustees not to approve a budget and added that the budget could be amended at any time.

"We we have a duty to do this. We have to go into the new year with a budget," he said.

In December 2022, the trustees and Fiscal Officer Julie Varian had a similar conversation in the last meeting of the year. Evans and Varian said then that at least a temporary budget was needed to pay basic bills.

In the past, the board has approved a budget during the organizational meeting in January and the bills are paid in the first meeting, according to meeting minutes posted on the township's website.

It's expected that a permanent budget will be voted on Jan. 2, the date of the first meeting of 2024.

Jeff Johnson's last meeting on the Etna Township board

That first meeting in January will the first one without Johnson as a sitting trustee for the first time in 16 years.

Johnson opted not to seek reelection this year and will be succeeded by Gary Burkholder, who won the seat in the November election.

In the last few minutes of the meeting, Johnson thanked residents, both those who supported him and those who disagreed with him over the years.

"I really appreciate and (am) humbled by the chance to serve the community here," he said.

After the meeting, Johnson said he felt like he was leaving the township in good shape financially and in a good position for future development opportunities.

Johnson was a part of two comprehensive plan updates during his time in office, including an update that is in the final stages now. He said that as a part of both of those, residents responded in surveys that they wanted more job opportunities, restaurants, shopping and more to create a complete community in Etna rather than just a rural living space.

That transformation is already underway with distribution centers, such as for Amazon, Kohl's and FedEx, and restaurants like Chipotle and Starbucks, Johnson said. He added that will continue in the future with the completion of a park on Smoke Road, north of U.S. 40, and a new wastewater treatment plant on U.S. 40 that will expand sewer capacity in the area, allowing for more businesses to make a home in Etna Township.

"It'll give us restaurants, it will give us a grocery store probably, give us things that we need together as the community," he said.

mdevito@gannett.com

740-607-2175

Twitter: @MariaDeVito13

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Etna Township prohibits marijuana growers, dispensaries