Residents urge council to reject two cannabis-related resolutions, cite conflicts and youth impacts

Two residents used the meeting’s public-participation period to ask the Highland Park Borough Council to vote no on resolutions identified by commenters as Nos. 118 and 119, raising concerns about conflicts of interest and locations near youth-serving businesses.

Mary Boteum, who identified her address as 709 Madison Avenue, told the council: "I ask you to, kindly vote no on resolutions 118 and 119." Boteum said the location tied to Resolution 119 involved people she said were connected to former Mayor Gail Mittler, and she urged council members to decline the permit because she considered the application process to lack disclosure of personal interests.

Melissa Laduke, 13 Lewist Street, also urged the council to vote against the same resolutions. She told the council the businesses "present continuing threats to the youth of our community and put on part in a negative light," and said one of the proposed locations was close to residential homes and a bubble-tea business frequented by children. Laduke said she has observed what she described as litter and packages from cannabis products near residences and that it is affecting the character of the neighborhood.

The commenters asked council members to consider perceived ties between applicants and local officials; Mary Boteum said she had prepared a chart of connections and offered it to council members. Both speakers asked the council to prioritize youth safety and neighborhood impacts.

The meeting transcript records a later adoption of a consent agenda (items listed A12 through A12I), but it does not identify within the transcript which consent resolutions correspond to the numbered resolutions mentioned by commenters, nor does the transcript show a separate roll-call vote in open session explicitly tied to resolutions 118 and 119. The transcript therefore does not record whether the council specifically voted on those two resolution numbers during the meeting.

Public comments occurred during the meeting’s general public-participation period; no council member made a substantive response on the record to the allegations of undisclosed connections to applicants during the public-comments segment captured in the transcript.

Residents and parties seeking copies of materials mentioned by commenters—such as the chart Boteum offered—should contact the borough clerk or review the borough’s filings for the formal resolution texts and applicant disclosures.