VIDEO: "Let the People Decide" - Selectman Szatkowski on Marijuana Dispensary

Report and Photography by Paula Antolini

Click here to view the entire Szatkowski speech.

Is it really over?  Apparently the Marijuana Dispensary zoning permit was upheld by the Bethel Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) yesterday, so the dispensary will open soon.  It will be interesting to see what impact it has on our little town of Bethel and that neighborhood where the dispensary is located.

It would be important to know how the ZBA dealt with each and every issue when they were in work session, issues that were brought up at both public hearings by numerous residents with legitimate concerns, or if the ZBA simply did not address the majority of that outcry at all, and chose instead to only focus on a few laws and regulations in order to approve this permit, ignoring the numerous residents' wishes.

There were many important points brought up by the attorneys and residents who were against the dispensary, namely the definition of "general public,' whether the dispensary is defined as a "retail store" or not, if the dispensary is too close to residential homes and will also cause high traffic, and that marijuana is not a legal substance.

What I witnessed at the hearing was that Neil Marcus (the attorney for the dispensary owners) compared the medical marijuana dispensary business to a shoe store, and candy store, or claimed it was a "retail store" open to the "general public" because they also sell other items online.  Chris Leonard, Bethel Zoning Officer Steve Palmer's attorney, claimed EVERYONE is "eligible" to receive a marijuana permit card, so it is therefore open to the "general public" and qualifies as a "retail store." 

On the pro-dispensary side were individuals that spoke about how the medical marijuana has helped them cope with their ailments and the convenience of having a dispensary location in Bethel, etc.  Interestingly a few out-of-towners were brought in, one person from Rhode Island, to talk about the merits his marijuana dispensary there. While speaking, he indicated his business has vastly increased in two years, from about 200 customers to 1500. This would actually confirm that the concerns of Bethel residents about increased traffic and other related safety issues in their neighborhood, are valid, if this Bethel dispensary has an equal success rate. 

An interesting note is that the majority of residents were not against the medical marijuana itself, but instead were opposed to the location of the dispensary close to a neighborhood of residential homes. Residents also objected to the process that was used to approve the permit so quickly without the public knowing about it beforehand, or not being allowed a voice in the matter on this most controversial subject. Many suggested the dispensary would be fine if located in a different spot in Bethel, away from children and homes, which would also avoid added traffic to the area too.

The continuation of the public hearing during Tuesday night's Zoning Board of Appeals Public Hearing (continuation) on July 15, 2014, about the Marijuana Dispensary zoning issue, was again well attended, and again in an non-air-conditioned room, but nonetheless brought forth numerous comments from the public.  This time the public comments were at the beginning of the public hearing, instead of people having to wait until the end of the meeting, late at night, to comment, as happened at the first public hearing on this same topic, when public comments were not heard until well after 10:30 p.m..  

On Tuesday there were comments on both sides of the issue.  Attendance was slightly less than the first meeting, the first meeting had about 100+ individuals and this meeting had approximately 75 individuals.  The meeting ran four and a half hours long from 7:00 p.m. until 11:27 p.m.

One of the strongest and more surprising comments was when our own Bethel Selectman Paul Szatkowski, also a 38 year Bethel resident, stood at the podium and stated that he did not hear about the marijuana dispensary zoning approval until he read about it in the newspaper the next day, and that Bethel Police Chief Finch just heard about it the night before from a "zoning official."  Szatkowski said, "Wow. Is this the government?"  

Szatkowski also commented about Bethel residents being a compassionate people, after hearing statements otherwise, and that it was "a boldfaced lie" that Bethel residents are not compassionate, that the dispensary issue centers on the "process and the location" rather than saying marijuana is good or bad.  

Szatkowski stated that he had "spent 40 years in the medical industry" having been a "vice president of a major medical company, a biochemist on the laboratory side" he said he knows "the pros and cons" of this marijuana issue, although that is not the main problem, he said, it stems back to the "process and the location" he repeated several times.  He recommended using "good common sense" to make this zoning decision.

He stated that this decision is dividing our community and that he is getting calls from "businesses, commercial operations, neighbors, and residents, saying 'how did you let this happen?"  Szatkowski said he answered, "I didn't, I didn't.  It was approved basically because our zoning laws say it is okay and our zoning official along with the First Selectman, which he said, he told me, he conferred with him, and he says, 'Go for it."  

Szatkowski then reminded the zoning board about the similar situation a few months ago, regarding the Bethel water company and how it was a similar analogy, and he said,  "common sense dictates something like this that is so devisive to the community, it should be sent back to the community. Let the people decide.  This is what it's all about."

"Let me just offer a suggestion as a selectman. My suggest is this, you go back to your attorney and say send it back to town officials…and I'll tell you, if I'm sitting on the board of selectman, my recommendation is let's have a town meeting and a referendum.  Let's settle it that way, because basically, you know, the government of Bethel is of the people, the people decide.  That's it, let the people decide."

I give a lot of credit to Selectman Paul Szatkowski for being the only town selectman to attend either public hearing, and for standing up for the people of Bethel.

Click here to view the entire Szatkowski speech.