AGAWAM – In a 9-1 vote during the Dec. 7 meeting, the Agawam City Council voted in support of a zoning ordinance amendment to allow the manufacturing of marijuana in town.
The change in the law was requested by Debilitating Medical Conditions Treatment Center Inc. (DMCTC) next to the South End Bridge. The proposed medical dispensary, which signed a host agreement back in 2017 that would allow them to sell medical marijuana, told town officials that a manufacturing business would make their location more profitable.
During a Planning Board public hearing on Dec. 3, Stephen Buoniconti, Agawam’s town solicitor, explained how under the current terms of DMCTC’s current host agreement, the dispensary would have to pay the town $125,000 per year, or 3 percent in gross proceeds. If a manufacturing business is added, than those numbers would increase, thus allowing them to survive as a business.
“We often sit up here every time this time of year saying we have to look for other sources of revenue so that we can do our best to try to lessen the impact of the real estate tax burden on our residents and our businesses,” said Christopher Johnson, president of the city council. “I think it’s foolish on the part of the town of Agawam to look the other way when a significant source of revenue can come into this community by way of what is like any other manufacturing…
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