The City of Oakdale received 14 business proposals by the Monday, June 19 deadline for marijuana purposes, raking in $70,000 in application fees for the City’s newest business opportunity.

“We had tremendous interest in the program, which was indicated by the 100 attendees at our first meeting and 50 attendees at our second meeting,” Oakdale City Manager Bryan Whitemyer said. “After seeing that interest I wasn’t too surprised by the number of applicants.”

The proposals have not been broken down into category as of yet, Whitemyer said, but the City was open to many different facets of the growing field of cannabis commerce. Anything from commercial cultivation, dispensaries, testing facilities, and equipment sales were possible.

Although the City received $70,000 in fees, Whitemyer said the money will help defray the substantial costs already incurred by the City.

“The city has already incurred significant legal costs related to the review of considering commercial cannabis in the city of Oakdale,” Whitemyer explained. “The application fees will be used to cover those costs as well as the additional legal and staff costs associated with the upcoming review of the applications.”

Going forward, the proposals will be reviewed by the City’s Economic Development Committee, which will then recommend the most viable proposals to the Oakdale City Council.

“The council will then have the opportunity to deliberate on the proposals,” Whitemyer said.

Although a timeline has not been established for the process, Whitemyer anticipates the council will deliberate on the issue in the next 30 to 60 days.