Great Barrington — Selectboard Vice Chair Leigh Davis submitted her resignation to the Selectboard on Monday, November 18. The rest of the board unanimously accepted her resignation during their November 18 meeting.
Davis was originally elected to the town’s Selectboard in May 2019 and began serving as its vice chair in May 2021. On November 6, however, Davis won in the race for the 3rd Berkshire District seat in the State House of Representatives, taking the place left vacant by William “Smitty” Pignatelli.
Davis’ resignation is effective as of Tuesday, December 31. Due to the timing of her resignation, Selectboard Chair Steve Bannon proposed to the board that Davis’ seat remain vacant until the annual town election scheduled in May. “By the time we [asked for candidacy] papers and everything else, [a special election] would probably be well into 2025,” Bannon said. “A special election would cost about $6,000. The other option is just the four [Selectboard members] struggle along until May. The only implications on that are, and [Assistant Town Manager and Director of Planning and Development Chris Rembold] is aware of this, is that if there is a special permit [application], which there are none right now that I’m aware of, it would have to [pass] unanimously as opposed to [passing as a] super majority.”
Selectboard member Eric Gabriel made Bannon’s suggestion into a motion, with a second by member Garfield Reed. The board then unanimously approved the motion.
In other business: The Selectboard approved a Host Community Agreement application for Peak Collective at 325 State Road. According to documentation, the owners of Peak Collective are David Ross of Bend, Ore., and G. William Heck of Coconut Creek, Fla. The manager is listed as Chris Lynch of Great Barrington.
Back in July 2020, the Selectboard approved a Host Community Agreement for the same location for Valkyrie Cannabis.
Kathleen McCormick, from the Great Barrington Law Firm McCormick, Murtagh & Marcus who represented Peak Collective at the meeting, told the Selectboard that the company would use the site plan previously approved for Valkyrie.
The motion to approve the Host Community Agreement was made by Davis and seconded by Gabriel. It passed by a vote of four to one, with Reed voting against the agreement. He did not state why he voted against the motion during the meeting.
The Selectboard subsequently approved a Host Community Agreement renewal for OBCC LLC at 82 Railroad Street. The location for OBCC, which is also known as Bridge City Collective, was purchased in September 2021.
According to state Cannabis Control Documents, company owner Jason Kabbes owns cannabis-based establishments in several states, including Ohio, New Jersey, Missouri, and Oregon. Back in January 2022, Pittsfield’s Community Development Board approved the company’s plans to turn an industrial building at 74 Downing Industrial Parkway into a cannabis-cultivation facility.
At the November 18 Selectboard meeting, Selectboard member Gabriel said he had some reservations about approving a renewal for the company. “I take a slight issue with the fact that this site [82 Railroad Street] has been sitting dormant for an extreme amount of time,” Gabriel said. “It’s a location that’s vital in our downtown area. The last time [the application] dropped before us, we were informed that construction was shovel ready.”
Gabriel asked Kabbes how long it would take the Cannabis Control Commission to approve the company’s marijuana-retailer plans and when the company plans to open its store. “I’d say approximately six to eight months to be fully ready for final approvals,” Kabbes, who joined the meeting via Zoom, told Gabriel. “I would think for the permitting and construction phase, that would likely be around four to five months. As far as this site sitting dormant for some time, we’ve been through three phases of redesign. We’ve now landed on a designer that we like, have a construction budget, and a timeline that we like.”
Gabriel recommended that the motion to renew the Host Community Agreement include a provision that the store must be completed in order to have walkthroughs by the Cannabis Control Commission within eight months.
Davis added Gabriel’s suggestion to the motion to renew the agreement, which was approved by a vote of four to one, with Reed once again voting against the agreement; however, once again he did not state why he voted against the motion.
Finally, the board unanimously approved the renewal of the Great Barrington Dispensary Host Community Agreement. The company, formally known as Coastal Cultivars LLC, is located at 454 Main Street.
Click here for documents pertaining to Host Community Agreements as reviewed by the Selectboard during its November 18 meeting.
Correction: In a previous version of this article, the address for Great Barrington Dispensary was incorrectly given.
