ADAMS, Mass. — The Selectmen last week heard from Jacob Zieminski, president and founder of Berkshire Boys, who is interested in opening a medical, and possible recreational, marijuana dispensary in town.

 

With the recent town meeting-approved marijuana bylaw on the books, the town has seen an uptick in requests for letters of non-opposition from possible retailers and Zieminski made his case last week.

 

"It is going to be hard and I want to do this together," Zieminski said. "How do we look at this as a community and address concerns and do things professionally and with quality."

 

This is the second request the town has seen; officials approved an agreement with a group called Mission Massachusetts last year.

 

Zieminski, who currently lives in the Boston area, is originally from Cheshire and said he is excited to possibly open up in the Berkshires and move home.

 

"This is home this is where my roots are," he said. "This is where home is, this is where my family is … I want to move my family back and this is the first time in my life where my mind, my gut and my heart have aligned."

 

Zieminski said he comes from a health-care background and most recently was the chief operating officer of an addiction clinic in Boston, where he saw the benefits cannabis can have on those battling opioid addiction.

 

"That was a humbling moment … I saw these changes in these folks and people were using cannabis to get them from point A to point B," he said. "Not going underneath the bridge to meet their dealer but using it to get to their next appointment, using it to get to therapy or to medically assisted treatment."

 

Selectman Joseph Nowak, who has been an advocate for medical marijuana, agreed that marijuana could be a tool to battle the opioid epidemic. 

 

"My feeling is heroin is so prevalent and kids poke up once and they are hooked," he said. "I think kids will be kids regardless of what programs are out there ... and maybe they will get that high they are looking for with marijuana instead of using heroin."

 

Zieminski added that it can also be beneficial to those who suffer from anxiety or other issues they may take some other kind of medication for. It is important to him that he works closely with the town on what he assured will be a long and complicated process. He did praise the town's new bylaw and said he could tell a lot of thought went into it.

 

"You have done a really good job of thinking this through and I commend you guys for what you have done," he said. "Because you have taken a step back and asked what does it mean to the town."

 

Chairman John Duval mentioned host community agreements that often provide communities that house marijuana establishments with monetary benefits and asked Zieminski his thoughts on what he would offer the town.

 

Zieminski said the current proposed agreement is pretty boilerplate and warned the board to be leery of any company that offers to shower the town with money. 

 

"We are going to be giving back to the community and we are giving financial incentives as much as we can in legal terms," he said. "People may come in and say they will make $10 million in the first year. Trust your gut. It takes six months to harvest."

 

Zieminski said he is currently in the application of intent process for medical and recreational and has already eyed some locations in town that meet the bylaw's criteria.

 

The selectmen took no action Thursday night (the meeting was not held on its regular night) but said they hope to see Zieminski again.

 

In other business, the board tabled the approval of a new veterans agent agreement that would extend Stephen Roy's coverage of Adams, North Adams and Williamstown to Dalton, Lanesborough and Cheshire. The agreement has already been approved by North Adams and Williamstown.

 

"I have some concerns about the time restraints and if he will be able to do all of this properly," Nowak said. "When you are a veteran you never leave a soldier in the field so what kind of assurances can Mr. Roy give us?"

 

Interim Town Administrator Donna Cesan said she has spoken with Roy and that he was confident that he could take on the extra workload. She added he would still hold office hours in town twice a week and bringing more towns into the fold would save $2,700 annually.

 

The Selectmen will invite Roy to a meeting before making a decision.

 

The board also voted to increase Town Accountant Mary Beverly's compensation another $100 a week for the extra duties she will take on during the budget process in the absence of a town administrator. 

 

Cesan said she is concerned that with the absence of a Department of Public Works director, her position as community development director will extend into more construction projects, straining her time even more.

 

"I will be honest with you. This has been difficult, and I am very worried about my projects that you rely on me for," she said. "They are really taking a back seat and I knew that and now that it's spring I just don't want to ignore these important projects."

 

Beverly will extend her involvement in the actual creation of the budget, attend the hearings and take on the full responsibility of the town administrator in regard to the budget.

 

The Selectmen already asked Beverly to extend her role after former Town Administrator Tony Mazzucco left and voted to increase her pay by $200. This increase will raise her weekly pay by $300.

 

Nowak was hesitant to approve the increase but went along because it would only be in place until the end of June.

 

"I have no trouble with Mary's work habits and she does a great job," he said. "I won't vote against it, but I am reluctant because I think people in town make a pretty good salary and have good benefits."