MONROE — A parcel of more than two acres formerly owned by Mitek Corporation has been sold to Pursuit Processing LLC for the purpose of creating a hemp processing plant within the 1000 block of 30th Street.
Pursuit CEO Zachary Harris said as a native of Cedarville and a former employee of Ruchti Stainless, who now owns Pinnacle Stainless in Denver, he wants to aid area farmers in their pursuit to gain revenue through the newly revitalized crop.
“It’s very easy for a farmer to grow the product, but what has to happen to get sales of the product can be more difficult,” Harris said. “We want to provide security and give farmers a place for them to sell that product.”
According to a letter sent to Monroe Zoning Administrator Ryan Lindsey dated May 1 from attorney Todd Schluesche of Kittelsen, Barry, Wellington, Thompson and Schluesche S.C., the Denver-based company submitted a planned development application which outlined a desire to use the property to process hemp and include a commercial drying facility.
The plan has yet to be approved. Monroe Common Council set a public hearing for July 1 on a change in zoning to planned development and approval of the development plan.
A representative attempting to secure the space for development is a member of the Board of Managers, Zack Baker of Orangeville. Baker owns Pursuit Hemp Farms and is one of the farmers Harris said the facility plans to partner with as the fall harvest begins.
According to the application submitted by Schluesche on behalf of Pursuit Processing, the proposed land use would include a building spanning roughly 32,000 square feet to be used for drying, storing and extracting industrial hemp. Drying would take place in the southern portion of the property with the use of a commercial dryer to be installed on the property. Harris said that step is particularly important because in a wet environment like the one Wisconsin provides, mold can quickly ruin the crop.
The primary purpose of processing the hemp would be to manufacture cannabidiol, or CBD oil, for the region.
“It’s very exciting,” Harris said. “Everybody is selling CBD now.”
There will also be benefits which meet goals laid out in the city’s 2015 Comprehensive Plan, according to the application; specifically, for economic development and agriculture and land use and the built environment. The development plan outlines a boost to the area’s legacy of agriculture by encouraging the cultivation of hemp, which is used to make a variety of items. Pursuit will be extracting oil from the plant which consumers purchase for tension relief, anti-inflammatory effects on the body, natural pain relief and others.
By purchasing and once again creating an active space, “the project will advance the goal of developing an underused existing parcel,” according to the application. The space is included within a corridor that had recently undergone a feasibility study for Tax Increment Financing by the city, but planners at Ehlers Inc. found it was not sufficient to support a TID.
In an application for development, company representatives contend that 15 full-time positions and 3 to 5 part-time or seasonal jobs will be created through the implementation of the new facility. Harris said that number is likely to grow as the facility begins steady operations.
“We’ve worked with over 100 different facilities,” Harris said. “We’re excited to bring what we’ve learned throughout the country, and the world, to Green County and to Monroe.”