The Voorhees Township Committee authorized for a letter of endorsement to be completed by Mayor Michael Mignogna regarding potential medical cannabis sites within the township at its meeting Monday, Dec. 16 at the Voorhees Town Center.
The resolution received four yes votes from township committee, with one member abstaining.
The resolution, according to the agenda, calls for the letter to be submitted by Mignogna. That letter can then be given to those seeking applications from the state that, if approved to join the state Medical Marijuana Program, would allow those with the newly approved licenses to then be able to negotiate a potential site within Voorhees Township.
Mignogna, in a written statement to The Sun, said that potential medical cannabis facilities can provide various benefits to the township if able to be located within Voorhees.
“In addition to the compassionate care such facilities would deliver to township residents, the law provides that a municipality in which a medical cannabis dispensary is located may adopt an ordinance imposing a transfer tax on any medical cannabis dispensed by the dispensary at a rate not to exceed 2 percent of the purchase price of the medical cannabis,” Mignogna said. “It is not unusual, based upon available data for gross sales to exceed $6 million to $10 million per year. This could result in revenue to the township anywhere from $120,000 to $200,000 annually, depending on sales.”
This past July, the township hosted a public hearing on medical cannabis where it hoped to receive feedback from residents regarding the community’s thoughts on potentially allowing such sites within the township.
During the meeting, numerous residents spoke in favor of bringing such potential business to Voorhees, leading elected officials to believe it would be good to move forward with potentially bringing medical cannabis to the township.
In an interview with committeeman Harry Platt shortly after the public hearing in July, Platt said the township’s Planning Board performed a study of the township’s available land during the summer in order to identify where potential sites could be located.
“We’re looking at areas that are around 1,000 feet from all schools, synagogues or churches and any daycare centers,” Platt said at the time. “Some of the [places] that fall in nicely in that category are the northernmost end of Route 73 near Marlton … which sits away from a lot of things in the area. The same thing goes for the southernmost part toward Berlin. That’s another area that could possibly suit our needs.”
Platt said there are various additional areas around Voorhees Township that were simply identified as potential locations for the future, such as the Virtua campus in Voorhees due to it being a medical facility.
“I think between those sites, it provides a lot of good possibilities, which are not going to negatively affect any of the people or facilities that we would prefer to stay away from,” Platt said in July.
According to Township Administrator Larry Spellman, the township has had continued interest from multiple parties seeking a letter of endorsement for their application from Voorhees Township. With the passing of the resolution, the township can now provide interested persons with that letter.
During the Dec. 16 vote, Deputy Mayor Jason Ravitz abstained due to conflicting interests regarding medical cannabis, as he stated he is a partner in a state LLC regarding the sale of medical cannabis.
Also during the meeting, Eastern Camden County Regional High School student Olivia Rose Arculeo was honored by township committee for her efforts in helping jumpstart a girls golf team at the school earlier this year.
Arculeo brought the desire for a team, separate from the boy’s team at the school, to the attention of the district board of education, which was approved in May.
“Olivia took it upon herself to really take action… and take steps to start the girls golf team at Eastern Regional High School, and we are really proud of her efforts,” Mignogna said during the meeting.
Arculeo previously played as a part of the boy’s team at the school, but moved to start the team after other girls showed interest in playing on their own team. According to Arculeo, who is currently a senior, she hopes to help with the growth of the team now that it has been created.
