ANOKA, Minn. — The City of Anoka is hiring for a new position, a cannabis dispensary manager. 

Anoka was one of several cities that applied for a municipal cannabis license. The state hasn’t issued any licenses yet, but the approvals are coming.

“We’re hoping to be one of the first ones to be open,” said Kevin Morelli, liquor operation manager for Anoka.

The city already has a municipally owned liquor store and plans to build the new city-owned dispensary adjacent to the liquor store, which will be about 3,000 square feet. 

The cannabis dispensary manager would be responsible for daily operations. The city posted the job online on April 14 and will close it on April 25. Morelli said they hope to have someone hired on or around May 19.

This is a job the city has never offered before, so he doesn’t know how much interest there will be in applying.

“It could be one, it could be 30, I don’t know, I have no idea what to expect. We just need to get moving on it. This project is moving full speed ahead, so we just got to get this out there and get this person in place,” Morelli said. “We’re hoping to break ground on a new building on or around May 12, and we’re hoping to have it ready by December 1, as long as we have our license in our hand, we can get the operation up and running.”

He said they posted the application now because they want the new cannabis dispensary manager to be included in the process and help them make decisions.

The position will be part-time until Sept. 8, then it will be transitioned into a full-time job. Morelli said the position will be part-time to start out because there won’t be anyone in the office yet. Eventually, they will hire an assistant manager, four retail specialists, a couple of receptionists, and a security team.

If Anoka’s license gets approved, Morelli said the city-owned cannabis dispensary won’t be the only one in the city.

“Under the OCM [Office of Cannabis Management] law we would have to allow for one privately owned one that would be run separate by a separate owner who gets a license from the OCM,” Morelli said.

Morelli said the city will only own and operate one dispensary. He said the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management is only allowing cities to own and operate one cannabis dispensary at the moment.

He said some of the funds they make from the dispensary will go back into the community.

“It could go into parks, it could back to the general fund, whatever the city council elects to do with the money,” he said. “Just like the liquor operation, the main goal is to just control the sale of the recreational marijuana in the city and number two, to generate revenue from the sales of that.”

Morelli said it’s an exciting and challenging venture for the city. He said they’re expecting some bumps along the way, but they’re hoping to move quickly once they get approval.