{"id":177907,"date":"2024-04-11T03:53:03","date_gmt":"2024-04-11T08:53:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=177907"},"modified":"2024-04-12T03:46:06","modified_gmt":"2024-04-12T08:46:06","slug":"special-meeting-set-to-discuss-pot-ban-on-city-properties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2024\/04\/11\/special-meeting-set-to-discuss-pot-ban-on-city-properties\/","title":{"rendered":"Special meeting set to discuss pot ban"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A discussion about prohibiting marijuana consumption on city owned property quickly became animated during Wednesday night\u2019s meeting of Van Wert City Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a vote on the first reading of an ordinance that would ban the consumption of marijuana on all city owned properties, such as parks and the Municipal Building, Third Ward Councilwoman Julie Moore asked for more discussion on the matter and Second Ward Councilman Jordan Dettrow suggested a special \u201cCouncil of the Whole\u201d meeting to gather public input on the proposed ban, along with a possible ban of recreational marijuana dispensaries within the city limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Councilwoman At-Large Judy Bowers talks about gathering public input on a proposed ordinance. Scott Truxell\/Van Wert independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe people I\u2019ve talked to have supported the ban at parks,\u201d Councilman At-Large Jeff Kallas stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want my granddaughter out there playing softball and a guy sitting in the stands smoking dope,\u201d First Ward Councilman Jeff Agler said. \u201cIt\u2019s not the place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agler also objected to the idea of the special meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet me understand \u2013 we\u2019re actually thinking about letting them smoke dope (in city owned parks)?\u201d Agler questioned. \u201cSo if we get five people come up here at the next meeting and tell you \u2018I want to smoke dope there\u2019 you\u2019re going to say \u2018okay then?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Council eventually agreed to continue the discussion and hear public input on the city property marijuana ban and a proposed ban on dispensaries at 5:45 p.m. Monday, April 22, before the regular 6:30 p.m. meeting. The special meeting and regular meeting will both be held in Council Chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Building, 515 E. Main St.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the discussion, council members successfully heard the first reading of the ordinance that would prohibit marijuana consumption on city-owned property. The second of three required readings is expected on April 22, after the special meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the discussion, Kallas and Law Director John Hatcher tried to eliminate confusion by stressing the proposed ban would only apply to city owned properties and not public areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a constitutional amendment and I don\u2019t think the city would have the authority to ban it in all public places,\u201d Hatcher said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other business during the hour and 45 minute meeting, council members heard from Zoning Appeals Board member Greg Amstutz and Engineering Supervisor Bill Lawson about the need for an ordinance to regulate \u201ctiny houses\u201d in the city. Check Friday\u2019s News page for a full story and other information from Wednesday\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent editor A discussion about prohibiting marijuana consumption on city owned property quickly became animated during Wednesday night\u2019s meeting of Van Wert City Council. During a vote on the first reading of an ordinance that would ban the consumption of marijuana on all city owned properties, such as parks and the Municipal Building, Third […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-177907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-03 16:44:20","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177907"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":177975,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177907\/revisions\/177975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}