Crystal City Council — Transcript
Sunday, June 21, 2026
Municipal Cannabis Dispensary Project Update
Project Financing, Budget, and Risk Assessment
Community Impact and Public Questions
Votes (1)
Administrator's Update on Osseo Press Room Dispensary Project
Dissent: No explicit dissent was recorded during this update presentation; questions were asked for clarification from both council members and the public.
Moved by null · Seconded by null
The City Administrator provided a detailed chronological overview of the municipal cannabis dispensary project, starting with the 2023 Minnesota legislation. Key milestones included the establishment of the Cannabis Sales Committee (Oct 2023), property acquisition at 33 Second Street Northeast (June 2024), shifting vendor partnerships from Red Pine Group to Voyager Cannabis (Nov 2025), securing a preliminary OCM state license (Aug 2025), and the ongoing redevelopment of the city-owned property with various contractors like Tell Architects/Ten and Green, 45 North Group, and Miller Trucking. Financial aspects, including a total estimated project cost of $4 million and a redevelopment budget of $2.959 million, were presented. The administrator addressed common questions about general fund liability, potential tax impacts, and the project's operational model, including the necessity of a new finance director position. The update concluded with financial projections, a comparison to Anoka's successful dispensary operation, and a brief public question and answer session.
Notable Quotes (7)
This legislation included a specific provision granting municipalities the authority to own and operate cannabis retail operations.
And accommodate two distinct business suites within that building, and that’s what 45 North has been helping us since February.
Is the general fund on the hook? Yes, because it is a municipal project. And that bond payment is something that we are going to have to pay back one way or the other.
We’re going to be the first city, um, in this probably the country right now to to hire a vendor to run our store the day to day of the store.
If you look at it, it’s about an 18.6% profit year. One, 19.7. Year two, 19.9. Year 321.3. Year 421.6. Which are pretty high numbers for any type of business.
Is there going to be enough parking for people to to come and go or to come and stay for hours? However, the or they plan on doing it? Is that that been you looked into?
No. Oh no no no I and I would say that the state of Minnesota has put the kibosh on no usage. Um, on site. You can’t use it in your car, you can’t even transport it outside of it’s labeled container.
Ordinances & Resolutions (7)
Legal review outlining the statutory framework for governing municipal cannabis businesses, presented by City Attorney Mary Teach on September 25, 2023.
Signed with Red Pine Group on September 30, 2024, outlining their plan to purchase, build out, and secure a location.
Signed with Red Pine Group in March 2025 to facilitate the state licensing process through the Office of Cannabis Management.
Adopted by council on June 24, 2024, enabling the city to recover original acquisition costs of $727,000 for the commercial property at 33 Second Street Northeast.
Executed with Voyager Cannabis on November 24, 2025, making them the project's vendor for store operations.
Approved by council for a new finance director position, dedicated 40% time to cannabis project oversight and other city financial roles.
Financial projection document received by the council, outlining estimated revenues, expenses, and net profits for the dispensary project.