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Public applicant complains about cannabis licensing outreach; council discusses cannabis in executive session
Summary
A public applicant told Stockton Council his retail cannabis application was undermined by a councilmember's outreach to potential competitors; Mayor Lipsen defended the open process and the council later held an executive session that listed the cannabis ordinance among privileged topics but reported no action.
Michael Odenwald, a Stockton resident who said he has prepared a retail cannabis application, used the council's public comment period to say he had spent more than a year preparing an application and that a councilmember's outreach to industry contacts had demoralized him.
"18 plus months of being the only one to try and educate the council and prepare everything else required to make it happen," Odenwald said, describing outreach he said appeared on an industry website and expressing frustration that a councilmember had sought a competitor. He said he will have his attorney handle future communications about the matter.
Mayor Aaron Lipsen responded during public comment that the borough had provided Odenwald multiple five‑minute public comment opportunities and that Stockton would advertise the process to ensure a fair, open application window. "We have given Mr. Odenwald at least two, five‑minute opportunities to speak… Stockton would be advertising and it would be a fair and open process to anyone who wanted to apply for [a cannabis] license," Lipsen said.
Later in the meeting the council voted to enter executive session citing attorney‑client privileged matters including "Cannabis Ordinance/Communications" (N.J.S.A. 10:4‑12b(7)) and separate contract negotiations. The council said the session, which continued until about 8:37 p.m., was expected to take roughly 30 minutes and that any public disclosure would follow resolution of the matters. When the council returned it announced no action had been taken on executive‑session items.
The record shows public comments expressing both concern and support about how the borough handles cannabis licensing: Odenwald questioned fairness and described personal grievances; Eileen Foley told the council she believed the borough handled the matter professionally and that it should remain open to all applicants. No formal licensing decisions or bidder selections were recorded at the meeting.
