DOUGLAS COUNTY
— In their Tuesday, July 1, regular meeting – that lasted less than 30 minutes –
Douglas County Commissioners
approved the agenda, draft minutes, donation resolution, Memorandums of Agreement for cannabis registration and compliance, and more.

According to request for board action submitted by Land and Resource Management Director Dave Rush, through the county’s Cannabis Registration, Event, and Use Ordinance, the county agreed to allow municipalities to delegate their cannabis sales registration and compliance activities to the county.

He said that it was accomplished through a resolution by individual cities that submitted their requests to the county. In addition to the resolution, an agreement needed to be approved between each municipality and the county as to the various responsibilities and authorities of each party regulating cannabis sales.

At the meeting, commissioners approved Memorandums of Agreement with both the city of Garfield and the city of Kensington for the delegation of cannabis sales registration and compliance activities by Douglas County.

Rush said that basically, the MOAs go a step further than just the delegation and includes who is responsible for what and who is going to pay for what. The MOA states that the county will annually provide sufficient funds for the administration, enforcement and registration for the possession, sale and use of cannabis. The funds may come from state grants, county cannabis aid funds, general revenue funds and the collection of fees and penalties.

“If for any reason the funding is not sufficient, the municipality agrees to make up the difference in what we haven’t recovered through registration fees and other methods,” Rush told the commissioners.

Other cities have already delegated authority to the county, he added, but at this time, only Garfield and Kensington have the MOA. He expects others to come forward in the coming months.

In other action, the board accepted a donation of $200 and it was designated to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Honor Guard.

The full meeting can be found on the “Douglas County, MN – Board of Commissioners” YouTube channel,
youtube.com/@DouglasCountyMN-CountyBoard/streams.