Sylvia Ortiz-Velez serves as a Milwaukee County Supervisor in District 12 which includes parts of the South Side and Mitchell Park.
Milwaukee County Supervisor Sylvia Ortiz-Velez represents District 12, which includes the culturally diverse South Side and Mitchell Park. Since joining the Milwaukee County Board in April 2018, she’s seen the myriad revenue challenges the county faces, specifically within the Parks Department.
“Milwaukee County is limited in how it can raise revenues. The Parks Department receives no money from the state,” she says. Her solution? A proposal to cultivate hemp seedlings at one of the six Mitchell Park greenhouses behind The Domes.
The measure was approved by a Milwaukee County Parks committee on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019, and Ortiz-Velez said the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors approved the measure that same cycle. In addition, the county board in April 2019 approved a feasible study to see if 881 acres of other land owned by Milwaukee County could be used by private leasers to produce agricultural hemp.
The plan is still in its infancy with many moving parts, and the COVID pandemic has stalled some measures. Soil samples that had been collected from various agricultural sites over winter may no longer be effective and will have to be retaken, but Ortiz-Velez says during her most recent conversation with the Parks Department, they drafted a request for proposal (RFP) that she hopes will go out later this year. She anticipates a report will be available to share with the public at that time.
The agricultural sites are located throughout Milwaukee County, including some undeveloped rural areas in Franklin and Oak Creek. Ortiz-Velez says the agricultural lease prices would be very affordable, thus opening the door to the budding hemp industry to people who don’t own their own land.
Buy A Clone, Save a Dome
Ortiz-Velez says the Mitchell Park greenhouses are state-of-the-art gems, and using just one, at 5,000 square feet, would provide plenty of space to a start hemp clone program that would not just fulfill the need for state farmers to obtain good hemp clones, but also provide operating revenue for The Domes. “It will raise revenues without raising taxes, while fulfilling some of the operating costs we have at the Domes,” she says. “It will help the state’s farmers buy locally and we can market that—buy a clone, save a dome!”
After meeting with representatives from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer protection, and with researchers from UW-Madison’s hemp program, Ortiz-Velez says there’s a real need in the state for viable hemp clones. “There are Wisconsin farmers that had purchased clone from outside of our state and brought in invasive mold, mites and jumping worms,” she says. “Or, people are getting clones that are ‘hot’ with levels of THC over the legal limits.”
Ortiz-Velez also sees the plan to lease county land and greenhouse space to hemp growers as an educational opportunity and to break down stigmas. “I represent the 53204 and 53215 area codes, which has the highest deaths anywhere on our state from opioids and heroin,” she says. “I talk to people whose lives were saved because they now use cannabis for pain relief, instead of addictive drugs that almost killed them.”
Ortiz-Velez is running for the state assembly seat for the 8th district. She expressed excitement for a new state house and state senate so decriminalization of marijuana and legalization efforts can finally move forward. She predicts that Wisconsin Senate Leader Scott Fitzgerald, a staunch opponent of legalization and decriminalization, will probably go on to U.S. congress and someone else will his state role. She also sees an opportunity with redistricting after the 2020 census.
“Currently in Wisconsin, a second offense for possession of THC is a felony, even if it’s just half a joint! Why is that law still on the books? I think even Republicans can even agree that that is harsh—and with a felony on your record, you can’t own a gun. I would love to be involved in taking that off the books in our state.”
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