Municipal dispensary project
What I Believe:
I understand why the municipal dispensary was viewed as an attractive opportunity when conversations first began. With Minnesota’s changing cannabis landscape, a city-operated dispensary presented the possibility of creating a new revenue stream for Osseo and capturing an emerging market opportunity within our community.
The City Council and City Staff put countless hours into planning for this project, for which I am grateful. But an attractive opportunity still deserves continued careful scrutiny. When millions of dollars and taxpayer resources become involved, I believe the process deserves additional time, careful financial review, and proactive communication with residents.
My concern has been less about the opportunity itself and more about the process that moved us from an idea to a significant financial commitment. I believe a project of this size deserved more time to review the business plan, independently challenge the financial projections, understand the risks, and give residents a meaningful opportunity to be heard and considered.
Architectural Renderings - Thielen & Green
I was particularly concerned that the project moved forward without the benefit of review from the City’s incoming Finance Director. When we're considering a new city-operated business and assuming this level of financial risk, I believe having that financial expertise at the table should have been an important part of the process.
There is a difference between recognizing an opportunity and determining that it is the right investment. Good governance requires us to do both.
What I’m Hearing:
I’ve heard a wide range of opinions from residents about the dispensary itself. Some oppose cannabis sales. Some question whether operating a retail business should be a function of city government. Others understand the potential opportunity but remain concerned about the financial risk and how the decision was made.
But one concern has come through particularly clearly in my conversations with residents: many have told me they did not feel heard during the process.
Residents showed up, asked thoughtful questions and raised legitimate concerns about the business plan, financing, projections and risk to taxpayers. Regardless of where someone stood on the dispensary itself, those questions deserved consideration and clear answers.
For me, meaningful two-way communication means creating opportunities for residents to ask questions, listening to those concerns, responding openly, and allowing community feedback to help inform the decision-making process.
What I’ll Work Toward:
If the project continues moving forward in the time leading up to the 2026 Election, the focus will shift to protecting the interests of Osseo residents and making the project as successful and responsible as possible.
That means advocating for clear and regular financial reporting, transparency around revenues and expenses, honest measurement against the projections used to justify the investment, and open communication with residents about how the business is performing.
It also means recognizing that taxpayer dollars deserve the same level of care whether they represent money already collected or potential future revenue. Projected revenue isn't guaranteed revenue, and every investment the City makes carries an opportunity cost and some degree of risk.
Most importantly, I want us to learn from this process.
Going forward, I’ll advocate for clear communication, genuine two-way conversations with residents, appropriate financial review, and responsible investment of every taxpayer dollar—realized or potential.
When attractive opportunities come before the City, I'll approach them with the same philosophy: do the homework, challenge the assumptions, understand the risk, listen to our residents, and then make the best decision we can for Osseo.