North Mankato City Council to talk cannabis, Caswell bonding

Tim Krohn, The Free Press, Mankato, Minn.
·2 min read

Jun. 4—NORTH MANKATO — The potential effects of legal marijuana and a push to again seek state financial support for an indoor recreation center will be topics of the North Mankato City Council work session Monday night.

The Legislature and Gov. Tim Walz approved legalizing recreational marijuana, with the law taking effect Aug. 1.

In a letter to the council, City Attorney Chris Kennedy said the city needs to look at how the law will be enforced the first 12 to 18 months of being enacted.

"The legislation limits local control," he wrote, saying the law creates an Office of Cannabis Management, which will be the entity that has regulatory authority over the cannabis and hemp industries.

"It will take some time for the office to become fully functional," Kennedy said.

The new law makes it legal for anyone 21 and older to use, possess or transport cannabis paraphernalia, possess up to 2 ounces of cannabis flower in public places and up to 2 pounds in their own residence. People can also possess 8 grams of cannabis concentrate.

Kennedy said the law limits local control but allows cities to ban cannabis businesses within 1,000 feet of a school or 500 feet of a day care.

Local governments cannot require cannabis businesses to be licensed, but they can require them to register with the city and cities are required to perform compliance checks on cannabis businesses, much as they do for tobacco and alcohol sales.

Kennedy noted Mankato has instituted a moratorium on cannabis businesses for up to one year to give the city time to establish local rules.

Caswell bonding

North Mankato had requested $10 million in bonding money from the state in the last legislative session, but the funding was not included in the final bonding bill.

The council is likely to vote at its regular meeting Monday night to seek bonding money for Caswell again in the next legislative session.

The 2024 request would be increased to $12.75 million to adjust for inflation. The total project cost for the indoor rec center is $25.5 million.

The 108,000-square-foot facility would include four full-sized basketball courts and six tennis courts.

The basketball courts could be converted to eight youth-sized courts or eight full-sized volleyball courts.

The tennis courts could be converted to 12 pickleball courts.

City Administrator Kevin McCann said there is a demonstrated need for such a rec center in south-central Minnesota, which is underserved by such facilities.

The council workshop starts at 6 p.m. and the regular meeting at 7 p.m. at the North Mankato City Hall.