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WHATELY — Eighty-six residents approved all but one of the 25 articles on Tuesday’s Annual Town Meeting warrant, rejecting a petition that would have added a “Marijuana Product Light Manufacturer” to the town’s table of use regulations.
The proposal, pitched by DMC Cannabis (formerly DMCTC), would have permitted manufacturing of marijuana products without the use of hazardous or flammable materials through a special permit in Whately’s Commercial, Commercial-Industrial and Industrial districts.
DMC Cannabis, which is based in Whately, is permitted to operate a retail cannabis dispensary in the former Sugarloaf Shoppes and was seeking to use the rest of its space as a small-scale product manufacturing site. CEO Jared Glanz-Berger said the company would have been “processing cannabis plant material and extracted oils, filling carts [and] labeling packages,” which is “very similar” to what happens with commercial kitchens.
“It’s clean, low-impact and done indoors under strict regulatory oversight,” Glanz-Berger said. “This is about fairness, treating cannabis product assembly and packaging like any other product assembly and packaging.”
The Planning Board took no action on the article, while the Selectboard recommended rejecting the petition, as its board members, as well as several Town Meeting voters, said the proposed bylaw was too broad and would potentially encourage uses that could take up valuable Commercial District space.
“We don’t have enough commercial space in town as it is, I think everybody recognizes that,” said Judy Markland, a former longtime Planning Board member. “You only get more by taking away from Ag-Res and the town’s been unwilling to do that. By adopting this, you’re more or less reducing the space you have for activities that create foot traffic.”
After a few more back-and-forth questions, residents overwhelmingly rejected the proposal, with just nine votes to approve it.
Voters also approved a $6.86 million fiscal year 2026 operating budget, which is a $460,998, or 7.21%, increase over FY25. Major drivers of the change included a $200,000 increase to Whately Elementary School’s request, an $85,000 increase in employee group health insurance costs and a newly implemented wage table calculation to bring town personnel wages closer to neighboring communities.
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“Our town employees, relative to their peers, were substantially below even the average wage,” commented Finance Committee member Jerry Lemmon, who is also the committee’s Personnel Committee representative.
The town previously had a consultant conduct a study to determine a new wage table and step system, which generated some discussion as to how it was implemented. Finance Committee Chair Paul Antaya said his board believed the new wage table and step system was going to come before Town Meeting voters, but Town Administrator Peter Kane said Whately has a personnel policy — as opposed to a bylaw — meaning these increases must be approved by the Selectboard, not voters.
Residents also approved $350,000 in FY26 capital projects, including a $183,000 free cash request to buy air packs for the Fire Department, which Fire Chief JP Kennedy said are sorely needed, as the department’s current equipment has reached the end of its service life.
Other articles that were approved by voters include:
■Accepting a state law regarding the HERO Act of 2024, which adds two new property tax exemption clauses for veterans.
■Appropriating a $300,000 free cash transfer to reduce the tax levy.
■Transferring $58,000 from free cash to fund accumulated sick leave buyback for Whately Elementary School employees.
■A proposal to permanently change the annual town election from June to April and the Annual Town Meeting to June.
■The creation of a new Flood Hazard Overlay District to bring the town into compliance with new Federal Emergency Management Agency requirements.
Annual Town Meeting can be viewed on Frontier Community Access Television’s YouTube page at bit.ly/4kQeCik.
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.
“}]] WHATELY — Eighty-six residents approved all but one of the 25 articles on Tuesday’s Annual Town Meeting warrant, rejecting a petition that would have added a “Marijuana Product Light Manufacturer” to the town’s table of use regulations. Read More
