Split Redmond council will talk more about whether to allow marijuana stores

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Redmond city councilors had their first but apparently not last discussion Tuesday night about whether to allow recreational marijuana dispensaries in the city, but a slim majority did not want that issue to be part of the council’s goals for the coming year.

Newly elected Councilor Clifford Evelyn said it was an issue he campaigned on last fall and that “many people have come to me and asked me to come forward” with a proposal to join Bend, Madras and other communities that allow the marijuana stores, legal under state law.

Evelyn also said no businesses or others had asked him to make the proposal: “There’s nothing shady going on,” he said.

Fellow new Councilor (and former mayor) Ed Fitch said, “We have significant budgetary needs in our city,” noting that “we don’t want to go to taxpayers for more money.”

Fitch said he believes a review will find that Bend has “very little cost from regulating dispensaries,” and said Redmond “could net about $300,000 a year, which would go into the general fund, which is always stressed,” possibly helping pay for five more needed police officers.

“I’m not asking anyone on the council to promote marijuana,” Fitch said, only to consider: “Is it smart for the community to have a limited amount of dispensaries for people in Redmond who are already using it?”

Mayor George Endicott has pointed to the city’s regulations that don’t allow businesses which violate state or federal law.

But another supporter, Councilor Jon Bullock, said there’s a chance federal officials could remove marijuana from the controlled substance list, and at that point, the current rules wouldn’t necessarily limit how many dispensaries could open, so it’s a discussion worth having.

Councilor Jay Patrick said he’s “opposed to pot, but I’m not opposed to having the discussion. I just don’t want it as a goal.”

Krisanna Clark-Endicott struck a similar tone, saying she is "open to the discussion," though she disagrees with Fitch about the stated benefits.

City Manager Keith Witcosky said it would be removed as a goal, but “stay on (the list) as an issue we want to learn more about.”

Endicott said, “There’s probably four (councilors) that support that.”

The mayor said later that the policy discussion will ensue in coming months.

“It is not a single-faceted issue, but a multi-faceted issue,” Endicott said, pointing to one issue that did not come up, of the difference between medical and recreational marijuana, “which needs to be part of the discussion.

“We need to discuss legal, economic and social issues surrounding each of these commercial activities,” Endicott said.