By VERNON ROBISON
Moapa Valley Progress
A company seeking to build an industrial-scale marijuana cultivation facility in Moapa is planning to hold a public information meeting for the Moapa community in the coming weeks.
At the Moapa Town Advisory Board (MTAB) meeting held on Tuesday, July 30, board chairman Tim Watkins explained that cannabis producer Iconic Farms, would soon be hosting a meeting which would allow community members to learn about their operations and to provide feedback on their proposals for a local facility.
Representatives of Iconic had approached the MTAB at a meeting in June to gauge board members’ interest in building a marijuana cultivation facility in Moapa. The discussion had ended with a 3-1 vote that the board would be open to such a facility, provided it was located in the right spot.
In Tuesday’s meeting, Watkins said that he and fellow MTAB member John Wray had been invited recently to meet with Iconic Farms officials in regards to the proposal. Wray had not been present at the June meeting and Watkins was the lone vote in opposition to the MTAB action.
Both Watkins and Wray said that the meeting had opened their eyes about what the proposed project would really look like.
“I’m about as anti-marijuana as you can get,” Wray told the MTAB last week. “But after talking to them and hearing their full presentation, I really don’t see a problem with it.”
Watkins also said that it was a good meeting with openness and transparency from the company about their intentions. “It answered a lot of my questions and set my mind at ease about a few things,” he said. “But for me it is really up to the community, if people want it here or not. That is what I want to know.”
The item did not appear on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting. But during the closing public comment portion of the meeting, a resident from the Warm Springs neighborhood being targeted for the facility, asked about the status of the project. This opened a discussion with MTAB members about the proposed facility.
“I want to be clear that I am not against it,” said the woman who gave public comment about the marijuana grow facility. “I think it could be good for the area. I was just wondering what has happened to it.”
Watkins said that he welcomed the woman’s comment and was glad to hear from someone in that neighborhood. “We would love to hear from more of your neighbors on this as well,” he said.
Watkins and Wray said that the meeting with Iconic officials had allayed a number of concerns that they had about the facility being built at the proposed site, which is located on a 14 acre parcel on the hill directly east of the Warm Springs cemetery.
One of those concerns was traffic in and out of the site. But Watkins said that this would be minimal. “There wouldn’t be much traffic at all,” he said. “They said a total of about 40 people would work on site. These would be coming and going in two shifts per day. So there would be a few cars here and there.”
Wray brought up the concerns that there might be semi-trucks going in and out of the agricultural site. But this was also not the case, he said.
“They said that it would only be one or two vans per week coming in to transport product out,” Wray said.
Wray said that other concerns were also put to rest. The limited exterior lighting at the warehouse site would be focused downward to minimize light pollution. The building would be a low-profile structure without signs, logos, markings or lights to draw attention to it. And it would be a secure site, with significant security detail, which would be completely closed to the general public.
“This is not a dispensary and it never will be,” Wray said. “This company is focused only on the agriculture side of the industry, in growing the product.”
Watkins said that his central question for the company was why they wanted to locate in the town of Moapa, of all places. He said he learned that there were valid reasons for the choice.
First the company is licensed for operation only in unincorporated Clark County. That means there are limits to where the facility can be built. “That means, basically they have their choice of Searchlight or Moapa,” Watkins said. “Moapa Valley told them no, flat out, when they came to the town board there. And they were told not to even try in Bunkerville.”
In addition, the company had considered the proposed location in Warm Springs as ideal for the facility.
“From a security standpoint it is perfect,” Watkins said. “It is up high on the hill with a view of all approaching vehicles. So it works well from that viewpoint.”
In addition the site is near to water lines and other utility services. There would not be the huge added investment required to build in a more remote Moapa location where those services are not currently available.
The two board members also reported a number of benefits that the company claimed the facility would bring to the community.
The first was in good paying jobs. “The lowest paying jobs are for $18 per hour,” Wray said. “And they like to hire local people first. I think that a lot of people in town would be interested in that.”
In addition, the company expressed an interest in making investments in the community to provide needs that might exist here. In fact, the law requires companies in the cannabis industry to make donations to assist in the needs of their communities, Watkins explained.
The first example to come to mind was the need for pavement on the gravel road to the cemetery. The company would be required to provide a separate access road to their facility, Watkins said.
“But we asked them about paving the cemetery road as well,” Watkins said. “They were totally open to that.”
Janice Ridondo, of Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick’s staff, said that it was essential that the Moapa public become fully engaged in the upcoming informational meetings being planned by the company. She added that community buy-in would be needed before such a facility could be located here.
“Believe me, these guys don’t want to go where they are not welcome,” Ridondo said of the Iconic company. “They need to have community engagement. But they also have a lot to offer the community that people should learn about before making a decision.”
Watkins said that Iconic would be publicizing the upcoming meeting well in advance so that people could attend.
Watch upcoming editions of the Progress for more information.
