By Thomas Grillo
LYNN — After nearly a year of debate, officials are set to invite medical marijuana treatment centers to open their doors in the city.
Prospective clinic entrepreneurs have until Tuesday, Nov. 22 to answer the city’s request for proposals. The public will have an opportunity to hear presentations by the bidders and ask questions at a city council hearing scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 29.
Last summer, the city council approved a plan to bring two medical marijuana clinics to Lynn. Under the controversial ordinance, the treatment center zoning district includes the non-waterfront side of the Lynnway from Market Street to the General Edwards Bridge, two sites on Commercial Street and all properties on Route 107 from the Belden Bly Bridge to the intersection of Western and Murphy avenues.
So far, two potential operators have made it clear to Lynn officials that they intend to apply. Former City Councilor Paul Crowley, trustee of the Lynnway Sportscenter, a 12,000-square-foot facility at 497 Lynnway, has filed an application with the Inspectional Services Department to change the use of the center to a medical marijuana clinic.
Under the terms of the application, the 81-year-old candlepin bowling alley would become a pot dispensary operated by the New England Patient Network Inc. The East Boston-based company is seeking approval from the state Department of Public Health for a retail shop in Lynn and another in the western Massachusetts community of Deerfield.
Also, Patrick McGrath, owner of the Lynnway Mart Indoor Mall & Flea Market, told the council he wants to be the owner and operator of one of the clinics at his property at 491 Lynnway. He’s already invested $100,000 in licensing fees and intends, if he is granted permission, to employ 20 people at the dispensary, he said.
James Lamanna, the city’s assistant city solicitor, said based on the number of inquiries he’s received, the city expects as many as a dozen firms to respond to the RFP.
Councilor-at-Large Brian LaPierre said the RFPs come on the heels of a series of public hearings on where the clinics should be located.
“We heard from the public and tried to zone them in the proper places,” he said. “Now, it’s time to let the process take shape.”
Peter Capano, the Ward 6 city councilor who lives in the neighborhood behind the Lynnway, made unsuccessful attempts to keep the dispensary locations off the Lynnway.
The council has appealed to Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy to select a representative of the panel to work with the mayor on a so-called host agreement, LaPierre said. The RFP calls for negotiations between the mayor and the applicant. Typically, the deal calls for an amount of cash to be paid to the city to operate the facility.
“We haven’t heard from the mayor on this yet,” he said.
Kennedy could not be reached for comment.
In Deerfield, for example, the town and New England Patient Network Inc. signed a three-year agreement that calls for a one-time payment of $50,000 and 2 percent of the gross annual revenues for the first two years, with an increase to 3 percent for the third year. Deerfield expects to net about $100,000 annually.
Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected].