Cooperstown to consider
marijuana response in November
By GREG KLEIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
COOPERSTOWN — The village of Cooperstown’s Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting at 6:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 8, to discuss options about opting out on the state’s cannabis dispensary plan.
Municipalities have until the end of the year to opt out or they are considered open to hosting sites for marijuana sales or use.
Cooperstown Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh said she thought the chances Cooperstown got selected for a site were small anyway, but she wanted the village residents to have a say in the decision.
Tillapaugh said she thought opting out and scheduling a village referendum for the March elections would be a smart way to let villagers have their say on the issue.
Trustee MacGuire Benton said he thought framing the issue as opting out was a bad idea. He said the trustees could study the issue and decide to allow the deadline to pass without taking action, thereby opting in. Although opinions differed on a potential referendum, all of the trustees seemed to agree they did not have a full grasp of the new laws or the village’s role in the matter and wanted to use the next month to learn more.
