By Shelby Stewart-Soldan
Staff Writer
Ortonville — During the regular Monday night meeting, the Ortonville village council voted unanimously to transfer the conditionally approved retail marijuana license for 456 S. Ortonville Road from Berserker Group, LLC to Violet License Group, LLC.
“In conversations about transferring the license, it was guaranteed that they will abide by the things set out in their application as far as what is promised to the village and other community benefits,” said Village Manger Ryan Madis. “They will adhere to what is in the original application, and they will continue to meet those expectations.”
The license in question is for the property at 456 S. Ortonville Road, previously Provanco Roofing and Siding, and is one of two properties granted a conditional license in December of 2022. The proposal would be to open and operate Kief Wellness, pledge a lump sum of $25,000 to the village of Ortonville with possible additional annual funds, donations of $5,000 to local police, $10,000 to community parks and recreation, and $10,000 to public libraries. They also pledged 800 hours annually for staff to volunteer in the community.
The property is currently listed for sale with the adult use marijuana license attached.
“As we all know this has been a source of some angst in the village, and we went through some processes and here we are almost a year later,” said village president Ken Quisenberry. “It’s necessary for us to transfer one of our granted licenses from one person to another. All we’re doing is kicking the can down the road.”
The transfer is for the license only, and site plans have recently been submitted to the planning commission for review.
In August of 2022, voters in Ortonville voted for an ordinance to allow two marijuana retail establishments with a margin of five votes. The other license is still attached to 490 S. Ortonville Road and has not been transferred.