Views from the Shore
By Brian Cahill
As a marketing professional, I have sat in more than my share of meetings. Meetings of all sizes and in all sort of locations. Most of the time I learn something and find it to be a productive; on occasion, a have to admit, I find meetings to be a good time to check up on Facebook. But last week, I attended a type of meeting that I had never been to before. It was a City Council meeting held in Somers Point and it was a great experience.
The reason why I decided to attend was because there was an issue on hand that two organizations for which I volunteer, the Somers Point Business Association and Somers Point-Community First, were very interested. The topic was whether or not a cannabis store could open in Somers Point. The room was packed to a standing room audience who overwhelmingly were against this new type of retail venture in Somers Point.
Two weeks before the meeting, the Somers Point Business Association issued this statement: “The Somers Point Business Association cannot support cannabis stores opening and operating in Somers Point at this time. Without clear guidelines/laws/regulations from the State of New Jersey and the City of Somers Point, to determine the level of use, our businesses, particularly our restaurants, remain vulnerable from a liability standpoint as there will need to be insurance/safety requirements and additional costs that our local business owners could incur to account for risk levels of their patrons and/or employees. There is also limited guidance for employers that may have employees that partake in the use of cannabis, potentially creating Human Resources issues to navigate the ‘usage policies’ within their companies. Additionally, buying and selling marijuana is illegal on a federal level so the financial institutions within our community, would not be able to accept funds or establish account relationships from any cannabis business that is opened within the City of Somers Point. While we understand there is a strong personal opinion on this topic from many members of the Somers Point community, the goal of the Somers Point Business Association is to support our local businesses to adjust to regulations that could impact their operations. There are, simply, too many unknowns to effectively move forward at this time.”
Somers Point-Community First declared “Somers Point is a family community, and pot stores have no place here. Too many cities and towns reek of pot smoke, you can’t even walk outside without smelling it. Our police chief has already laid out the many negative outcomes that these stores will bring, and we should heed his concerns. As Chief Somers pointed out in his letter to City Council, the tax revenue these shops will bring in will be offset with increased expenses. But putting that aside, what is the social cost of these stores? What kind of message does it send when these pot shops will be open a mile away from a school or daycare facility? These stores are not replacing the former pot dealer. What they are doing is forcing the dealer to peddle cheaper alternatives, many of which are likely to be more dangerous. Opening a pot store is a terrible idea for Somers Point now, and it will have disastrous impact in the future.”
These statements and others comments, including the views of the Somers Point Police Department and the findings at the recent Planning Board meeting were read by councilman Sean McGuigan who expressed prior to the meeting he was against cannabis stores in Somers Point.
It was evident that the members of the public safety, business and residential community agreed with McGuigan. With this, Council representatives Richard DePamphilis and Howard Dill made a recommendation that SP Council move on from the issue and Council President Janice Johnston concurred.
Upon realizing that cannabis stores would not be coming to Somers Point, the majority in attendance rose to their feet and applauded. It was great to see. A controversial issue was brought to the public’s attention, a variety of views from multiple viewpoints were expressed, and then the government officials weighed the concerns and made a decision based on what they believed to be in the best interest of the community they represented.
It was a truly productive meeting. I can only hope the next few I attend will be as well!
Brian Cahill is the Director of Marketing for Shore Medical Center and Shore Physicians Group. He is also on the Board of the Somers Point Business Association, is a founding member of Somers Point-Community First, and is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Business at Stockton University.
