WHATELY — What has been described as a fusion of two companies is interested in cultivating marijuana at the site previously eyed by two East Boston businessmen.
NAP Advisors, somewhat of a combination of Point Seven Group and Dr. Robb Farms, has approached the Whately Selectboard in the hope of growing in a 160,000-square-foot greenhouse at 62 Christian Lane.
Nicholas Spagnola and Julius Sokol of Bloom Market Garden Inc. had previously been in discussions with the town about starting a marijuana farm there. Town Administrator Brian Domina said Spagnola and Sokol are no longer involved.
Robert Flannery of Dr. Robb Farms explained that his operation started when he used his expertise and doctorate in plant biology to make safe, clean cannabis products for his mother, who was undergoing cancer treatment.
“This project is something that gets my tail wagging,” he said. “I’m an agriculturist and horticulturist at heart.”
According to his website, Flannery is the first doctorate-holding individual in the United States with certified technical expertise in growing commercial cannabis. He said Whately is an ideal location because it “has a strong sense of agriculture.”
Ashley Picillo and Jace Levine of NAP Advisors attended the Selectboard meetings on June 12, June 26 and July 10 to pitch their plan. Picillo and Levine left the July 10 meeting with the Selectboard’s verbal support for a community host agreement, contingent on town counsel’s approval.
Picillo said her party plans to submit a cultivation application to the state Cannabis Control Commission in the next couple of weeks.
At the June 26 meeting, Picillo and Levine were at odds with Selectboard members over an annual 3 percent community impact fee, which Domina said NAP Advisors relented to as a result of a follow-up phone call from him and Selectboard Chairwoman Joyce Palmer-Fortune.
Palmer-Fortune mentioned the town had earlier in the meeting granted a community host agreement to Shine Diamond LLC and Karen Gaston, who Palmer-Fortune said has no problem with a 3 percent community impact fee.
“We don’t know what the impacts are going to be and with that uncertainty, I’m not happy with going down to what would optimistically be 1 percent, which is what you’re proposing,” she told Picillo and Levine on June 26. “I don’t have any reason to give you a break to do a third or less, in percentage terms, than what other cannabis facilities are asked to.”
Picillo replied that she and Levine are open to a percentage model, but that she hoped to have further conversation with the Selectboard about the potential negative impacts.
“I understand that there’s some that maybe cannot be forecasted or seen at this point, but I also believe and feel strongly that there are many that we can say with certainty are not going to be problematic,” Picillo said. “We talked briefly about the construction impact being very, very low because we’re not changing the footprint. We talked about the light emission that is currently there, for better or worse, being resolved in these plans. We did address the vegetation conversation.”
Selectboard Clerk Jonathan Edwards echoed Palmer-Fortune’s comments about “the unknown,” adding that “this is a brand-new ballgame.”
“There is so much anxiety,” he said. “Forgive me, and I’m going to take a leap of faith, I’m not convinced that anyone on your side of the fence understands how much anxiety is in some of these communities. I don’t know how many now have said, ‘No. We don’t want anything to do with this,’ across the state. And that reflects that anxiety. And I say this because I really want this to work, but we’d be crazy if we didn’t embrace the reality that there are a lot of people who just are nervous.
“If Glenfiddich decided that they wanted to make Scotch here, I’d welcome them with open arms, and it’s kind of the same thing,” Edwards said. “That being said, there’s no anxiety around Scotch. There’s anxiety around marijuana cultivation. Nobody can do anything about it except let time pass. So, I’m personally very comfortable with a percentage.”
He said the community impact cannot be predicted, and 3 percent is fair because of the marijuana industry’s potential.
Selectman Frederick Orloski expressed concern over 62 Christian Lane’s location.
“You’re going to be close to the most dangerous intersection in Franklin County, as of today, Christian Lane and State Road,” he said. “You’re proposing access to State Road near that intersection and also at Christian Lane. We’re just starting a study to figure out what to do with that intersection. Something needs to be done.”
Orloski said traffic generated by the cultivation site would only worsen the problem.
But Picillo said her organization is interested in developing a site that is equitable to the town and to the business. She acknowledged there are unknowns, reiterating that her party is not opposed to a percentage.
“But you appear to be opposed to 3 percent. So, in your terms, you want this to be equitable. What is unequitable about 3 percent?” Palmer-Fortune asked, resulting in Picillo responding by saying she doesn’t know if 3 percent is equitable or not.
“That’s what we have put on the table,” Palmer-Fortune replied, “because we put that on the table for every other group that has come before us. And every agreement that we’ve signed is at 3 percent. And I think that’s equitable.”
Reach Domenic Poli at dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.