[R]UTLAND TOWN — The site of a museum and gift shop featuring the work of Norman Rockwell is being eyed as a future location for a medical marijuana dispensary.
The Norman Rockwell Museum of Vermont is on Route 4 in Rutland Town and is currently listed for sale.
Joe Zingale, Rutland Town administrator, told the Selectboard at a recent meeting that an attorney with the Burlington-based law firm Gravel & Shea had contacted him about the property.
The firm, Zingale told the board, is “representing an individual who wants information on opening a marijuana dispensary at the Norman Rockwell Museum,” draft minutes from the meeting state.
Zingale, contacted Tuesday, said the attorney asked to be placed on the Selectboard’s agenda to talk about the dispensary proposal.
The town administrator said that meeting has not yet been scheduled, though it could be held later this month.
The attorney told Zingale the client is Lily Pad Organics Inc., with Daniel Reilly Jr. and Daniel Reilly Sr. the principals. Lily Pad Organics, according to the secretary of state’s online corporate database, is located on Meadowlake Drive in Mendon.
The secretary of state’s site listed attorney William “Chip” Mason IV, of Gravel & Shea, as the corporation’s “duly authorized agent.” Mason said Tuesday that his clients had no comment at this time on the proposal.
Such is not in the case in the city of Rutland, where the Board of Aldermen in 2012 banned such dispensaries.
Rutland Town is a separate municipality that encircles the city.
Joshua Terenzini, Rutland Town Selectboard chair, said Tuesday that he would like more information about the proposal before commenting.
“We’ve heard about it briefly. I don’t know any details,” Terenzini said. “I think for me to give any thoughts at this point would be premature.”
The state currently has four medical marijuana dispensaries. They are in Brandon, Brattleboro, Burlington and Montpelier.
A recently enacted law allows the state to license a fifth dispensary, as well as allows for each existing license holder to serve patients at a second location under that same license.
Mason did confirm that his clients are seeking to be licensed as a dispensary, not approval as a satellite site.
Lindsey Wells, marijuana program administrator for the state Department of Public Safety, said Tuesday that July 28 was the deadline for applicants seeking that fifth dispensary license.
Wells said the department received seven applications. “I have not been able to go through all the applications,” she added.
She said she couldn’t say at this point the location proposed by each of the applicants. Also, due to confidentiality of information, including details about proposed security, the applications themselves are not considered public documents, she said.
The Valley News reported recently that two companies have “expressed interest” in opening a dispensary in Hartford, including one seeking to be a satellite of an existing facility.
Wells said Tuesday that each applicant for the fifth dispensary license will be “scored” by a panel based on several criteria, including security, record-keeping and marijuana cultivation plans.
Ultimately, Wells said, a recommendation will be made to the state public safety commissioner for approval.
Ray Ault, the real estate agent for the owners of the Rockwell museum, said there was little could say on the matter.
“All I can verify is I am the agent for the Normal Rockwell Museum property,” he said. “I can tell you I have been the broker in a marijuana dispensary lease before, so I know the process.”
That lease was for the Brandon facility, he said.
“It’s a pretty thorough process,” Ault added.
He said he couldn’t say whether a proposal for a marijuana dispensary at the museum site involved a sale or lease of the property, or what would happen to the museum if a dispensary were approved for the site.
“I’m not prepared to say,” Ault said.
The website for the Rockwell museum in Rutland Town says it was established in 1976.
“Chronological display of more than 2,500 Norman Rockwell magazine covers, advertisements, paintings, facts, and other published works shows Rockwell’s development as an illustrator and links his work to the political, economic, and cultural history of the United States,” the site adds.
“Americans first knew and loved Norman Rockwell’s art and style as it appeared on and between the covers of America’s most popular magazines. These magazine covers, advertisements, and illustrations are at the heart of our collection.”
