The school superintendent and a city councilman, speaking at Thursday’s Wethersfield Board of Education meeting, urged citizens to attend Monday night’s Kewanee City Council meeting and voice their opinions on a recommendation from the city planning commission to approve a special use permit for a proposed cannabis dispensary in the former Broken Chimney building at 618 Tenney St.
Supt. Dr. Andrew Brooks, who addressed the planning commission hearing earlier this month, said the proximity of the dispensary to school property creates concerns for the safety and security of students. He said the school district would have to consider ending an open campus policy which allows students to walk to nearby restaurants for lunch. Even though the business, itself, appears to be secure, he said he worries about motor and foot traffic around the school whose property is the distance of only about a block on Tenney Street from the proposed site.
Illinois’ drug-free zone laws correspond with federal statutes which prohibit the possession or sale of drugs within 1,000 feet of schools and other areas where there are children, such as playgrounds and churches.
In December of 2019, the Kewanee City Council passed a series of ordinances regulating legal sales of cannabis in Kewanee. They included levying a 3% city sales tax and prohibiting sales of cannabis products within 1,000 feet of a school. In August of last year, the council lowered that distance to 250 feet so the Broken Chimney building could house a cannabis dispensary.
How widely the proposed change was publicized at the time is in dispute. Dr. Brooks told the planning commission he was not aware that the zone had been reduced from 1,000 feet to 250 feet last year. The actual distance from the northern Broken Chimney property line to the southern school district boundary has been measured at 300 feet by both the city and the investors who are asking for the permit.
Changing the distance from the school means the safe zone has been reduced from 1,000 to 250 feet, which would place the dispensary 50 feet outside of the zone. Dr. Brooks told the board Thursday night that if the special use permit is approved, Kewanee would be the only city in Illinois with a Safe School Zone of less than 1,000 feet. He also pointed out that the location is in a TIF district which means property values are frozen which means the school district would receive no benefit from an increase in property values.
Councilman Tyrone Baker attended the school board meeting and said citizen input is needed
“People talk a good game (on Facebook and elsewhere) but don’t show up when it counts,” said Baker.
He said the council wants to hear from the public on the issue at Monday night’s meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at city hall. Mayor Gary Moore has said he personally is in favor of granting the permit, but will abide by the will of the majority of the people.
In other business:
-Dr. Brooks reported that progress is being made on a mini-grid project to place solar panels on the south roof of the bus barn roof. The panels would provide a power source for electric school buses.
He said an electrical engineer and structural engineer inspected the building this week to determine if it will support the panels. If not, he said the south slope of the gymnasium roof is being considered as an alternate location.
The entire project is funded by a federal energy grant. He said one district has dropped out of the consortium of schools involved in the project, which means Wethersfield will receive an additional $58,000 to put toward the project. Initially, plans call for one electric school bus, but Brooks said they may be able to buy a second one sooner than expected.
-Elementary Principal Kyle Dennison reported that a recent book fair raised over $3,600 with each teacher receiving $36 to purchase additional books for their classrooms.
-A kindergarten lemonade stand raised just over $1,000 to support School Resource Officer Chris Woods’ cancer treatments.
-Dennison also put out a call for cardboard boxes to remove books from the elementary library which will receive new paint and carpet this summer and all of the books will have to be temporarily moved out.
-Friday, May 10, is the last day of school for seniors. Graduation is set for 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 19. The 8th Grade Celebration will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 23. The last day of school will be Tuesday, May 28.
-The Black Hawk East graduation will be held in the Wethersfield High School Gym at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 17, since the National Guard Armory, where the ceremony is normally held, is undergoing renovation.
