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Record of Proceedings

Prince George's County Cannabis Reinvestment and Restoration Board Meeting - October 8, 2026

County Council & Boards — Thursday, October 8, 2026
BodyPrince Georges County, Maryland
SessionCounty Council & Boards
DateThursday, October 8, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:38:34

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:00

No, all good evening.

0:02

Crystal Carpenter here.

Unassigned speaker

0:05

Miss

Speaker 1

0:06

Angela Fair.

Speaker 2

0:07

Here.

Speaker 1

0:08

Dr.

0:09

Rachel Jordan.

0:11

Here.

0:12

Natalie Doris.

0:15

Here.

0:16

Brand Atchison.

Speaker 3

0:20

Randy here.

Speaker 1

0:21

Randy Anderson.

0:22

Thank you.

0:23

Shannon Rogers.

Unassigned speaker

0:35

Miss

Speaker 1

0:35

Rogers.

0:36

I'm sorry.

0:36

I was trying to get off.

0:37

What was the question?

Unassigned speaker

0:38

I

Speaker 1

0:38

was just taking roll call.

0:40

Okay, I'm

Unassigned speaker

0:41

here.

Speaker 4

0:45

Yes, I'm Karen Yang is

Unassigned speaker

0:47

here.

Speaker 1

0:48

And Valencia Campbell.

0:50

I'm here.

0:52

Okay, we have eight present.

Unassigned speaker

0:55

But

Speaker 2

0:55

Miss Rogers is not voting member.

0:58

Oh, okay.

Unassigned speaker

0:59

Well

Speaker 1

0:59

seven present.

Speaker 2

1:01

Okay.

Speaker 5

1:03

Actually, uh Vice Chair James McDowell is here as

Unassigned speaker

1:06

well.

Unassigned speaker

1:07

Okay.

Speaker 1

1:12

Okay.

1:13

So that is eight present.

Speaker 6

1:20

Okay, very good.

1:24

Madam Chair, would you like to get us started with your opening room?

1:27

Or actually, we have a new section that we've added to the agenda for public comment.

1:34

And

Speaker 2

1:36

yes, but I think we if we can't move that to the end of the agenda.

1:41

I'm just not sure today if we've um, since we had a link issue, has the link been updated on the website.

Speaker 6

1:50

Yes, that was sent uh to the communications office and they were up there updating the website if they haven't already.

1:56

All right.

1:58

So that's perfect.

1:59

We'll save that for the end of the meeting then.

2:02

And then so we can go to you for your remarks and

Speaker 2

2:06

I just want to say thank you to everyone on this team, our um, all of the board members for the level of engagement that has occurred over the past few months, um, especially in the month of September.

2:19

Um, and at the end of August as well.

2:21

I know staff was really out for August for their break, but I know um as as it pertains to community engagement.

2:28

This board has been amazing.

2:31

Um, we were able to have our first community town hall that's hosted by us.

2:37

Um, well, hosted by our district council members, but uh led by us.

2:42

Um, and we were able to do so with the support of Danielle Hunter for District Six, um, or Tom Dinoger from District One and Tim Adams for District 4.

2:53

So just want to say thank you to all the board members that was able to engage throughout that process.

2:59

Uh, we have continued to do outreach to the council members that have not yet responded with a potential date for a town hall and or for community engagement in their districts, and we will continue to ask the question in hopes that we get as many community members engaged around this topic as possible so that the funding um and resources that goes to the community are reflection of that community input.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Community Engagement█████████████████████████████████████37%
Grant Applications████████████████████████████28%
Procedural██████████10%
Cannabis Regulation████████8%
Public Engagement██████6%
Data Management███3%
Economic Development██2%
Funding Allocation██2%
Pending Litigation██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Prince George's County Cannabis Reinvestment and Restoration Board Meeting - October 8, 2026

The Prince George's County Cannabis Reinvestment and Restoration Board met on October 8, 2026, to review community engagement data, discuss the board's branding, and establish a timeline for the first grant application cycle with the assistance of County Grants Director Shannon Rogers.

Consent Calendar

  • The board unanimously approved the meeting minutes from September 9, 2026.

Discussion Items

Community Engagement & Survey Results

  • Staff presented feedback from 69 community surveys and three town halls held in September. Desired investments included road repairs, stop sign cameras, financial literacy programs, healthcare infrastructure, and first-time homebuyer support.
  • Board members discussed the need for broader outreach, especially in the southern part of the county and districts that have not yet hosted town halls.
  • Natalie Doris offered Iverson Mall in District 7 for a town hall on October 28, 2026. Karen Yang offered to secure a venue in District 3. A virtual town hall was also proposed to increase accessibility.

Board Branding and Pending Legislation (CB93-2026)

  • The board extensively discussed the stigma associated with the word "Cannabis" in its official name. Members noted that over half of potential participants at town halls disengaged because of the name. The board expressed unified support for aligning its name with the state's "Community Reinvestment and Restoration Fund" while remaining transparent about the cannabis tax funding source.
  • Staff provided an update on CB93-2026, which would rename the board and require current members to reapply for four-year terms, maintaining continuity until new appointments are made.
  • Chair Carpenter identified a significant conflict between the strict timeline required by the proposed legislation and the realistic operational timeline for grant processing presented by the Grants Director.

Grant Application Process & Timeline

  • Shannon Rogers presented a detailed timeline and process. The county's grants management system will support the application, with a dedicated grant analyst assigned to the board.
  • Proposed Timeline: Applications will be open for 60 to 90 days. Board review of applications is expected to take 6 to 8 weeks. Payouts to grantees will follow 2 to 3 weeks after allocation decisions.
  • A draft application and scoring rubric are available for board review. The county can directly notify over 600 pre-registered community organizations when the grant opens.

Key Outcomes

  • Next Meeting: Scheduled for October 21, 2026, featuring Courtney Davis (Deputy Director, Maryland Office of Social Equity) as a guest speaker.
  • Grant Application Review: Board members will review the draft application and rubric and provide feedback at the next meeting.
  • Town Halls: An in-person town hall in District 7 (October 28, 2026) and a virtual town hall are being finalized.
  • Legislative Feedback: The board will formally relay its concerns regarding the feasibility of the legislated timeline in CB93-2026 to the County Council.
  • Compliance: A letter has been transmitted to the state regarding the board's spending plan to meet compliance deadlines.
  • Public Comment: A new public comment period was added to the agenda but deferred to the end of the meeting. The meeting was adjourned before it was conducted.

Meeting Transcript

No, all good evening. Crystal Carpenter here. Miss Angela Fair. Here. Dr. Rachel Jordan. Here. Natalie Doris. Here. Brand Atchison. Randy here. Randy Anderson. Thank you. Shannon Rogers. Miss Rogers. I'm sorry. I was trying to get off. What was the question? I was just taking roll call. Okay, I'm here. Yes, I'm Karen Yang is here. And Valencia Campbell. I'm here. Okay, we have eight present. But Miss Rogers is not voting member. Oh, okay. Well seven present. Okay. Actually, uh Vice Chair James McDowell is here as well. Okay. Okay. So that is eight present. Okay, very good. Madam Chair, would you like to get us started with your opening room? Or actually, we have a new section that we've added to the agenda for public comment. And yes, but I think we if we can't move that to the end of the agenda. I'm just not sure today if we've um, since we had a link issue, has the link been updated on the website. Yes, that was sent uh to the communications office and they were up there updating the website if they haven't already. All right. So that's perfect. We'll save that for the end of the meeting then.

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