MT. VERNON — The city of Mt. Vernon approved a conditional use permit for a cannabis dispensary at Monday night’s meeting, making it the first cannabis dispensary to be approved to come to the community. KPG of Harrisburg will operate the facility out of an existing building at 800 S. 45th Street, just west of I-57.
The council voted 4-1 to approve the conditional use permit, with Councilman Ray Botch voting no. Some residents spoke out against the dispensary at the beginning of the meeting, with their main point being that no one knows how these stores will affect the Mt. Vernon community.
Mt. Vernon mayor John Lewis told the crowd at the end of the meeting that although we don’t know what will happen here, one major study is showing that legal cannabis is not having a major impact on one of the first states to legalize weed.
The council also approved a bid from Hex Excavating to raze 16 blighted properties in Mt. Vernon and the council was presented with the findings of the 2018-19 audit. The council will look to officially approved the audit’s findings at their next city council meeting scheduled for November 4th at 7 p.m. at the Rolland Lewis Building at Veteran’s Park.