MONTAGUE — Amid continued complaints about odor emanating from Flower Power Growers, the Selectboard voted 2-1 in favor of having Town Administrator Walter Ramsey look into the cost and feasibility of having a third-party consultant evaluate the 180 Industrial Blvd. grow facility.

Both Selectboard Chair Richard Kuklewicz and Clerk Chris Boutwell voted in favor of the motion, and Vice Chair Matt Lord voted against it. The goal of hiring a third-party consultant would be to look at data and odor mitigation methods presented by Flower Power Growers, then offer further recommendations.

Flower Power Growers CEO Ezra Hagerty and company founders John Stobierski and Josh Goldman were present at Monday’s meeting. Goldman offered a presentation of numerical findings regarding odor complaints, with the data having been collected by outside contractors the company hired as well as from internal investigation. The data sought to better understand the external factors contributing to the odor, and if the observed odor comes from cannabis or odor neutralizer.

Forty-eight percent of the complaints were received when the wind was blowing south toward the Ja’Duke Center for the Performing Arts and 38% of the complaints came when the wind was blowing north.

Goldman noted there has been an increase in odor neutralizer at the facility, which has also resulted in more odor reports.

“This, again, suggests that the principal source of what’s being observed relates to the smell of the neutralizer and not to the smell of cannabis,” Goldman said.

Further backing up this belief, Goldman explained that an independent contractor conducted a gas chromatography study on terpenes — the odor compounds within a plant substance, including cannabis. The study examined 10 locations around the facility before and after improvements were made. There was a 91% lower emission rate of terpenes when odor neutralizer was increased at the facility in locations behind the greenhouse, and all other locations saw “no detectable levels of terpene at any time.”

Prior to Goldman presenting the findings, Montague Public Health Director Ryan Paxton noted that 25 complaints from Ja’Duke and residents near the industrial park had come in since Aug. 19, with odor complaints corresponding to activities within the facility, such as a harvest from Aug. 22 to Aug. 26 and the increase in odor neutralizer concentration.

Paxton said neither he nor the Board of Health have declared the odor a nuisance smell, despite continued complaints from the community. Both Kimberly Williams and Nicholas Waynelovich of Ja’Duke have repeatedly expressed their concerns about the odor impacting the Ja’Duke Preschool, regardless of whether the odor stems from cannabis or the odor neutralizer. Williams and Waynelovich cited the host community agreement and special permit containing odor mitigation clauses that Flower Power Growers agreed to follow.

Lord asked Williams and Waynelovich if their primary concerns come from the possibility that the chemicals within the odor are harmful to staff and students, to which Williams responded she can’t be “100% sure” the smell is harmful in the long-term, but she is still concerned.

“Parents complain, we can’t open the doors, we can’t open the windows, we can’t go out on the playground and be comfortable,” Williams said. Waynelovich added that this was not an issue prior to the opening of the grow facility, and visitors have mentioned the smell to Waynelovich before.

The Selectboard noted the efforts by Flower Power Growers to continue facility improvements to mitigate the odor.

“I think the town has a responsibility,” Kuklewicz said, adding that there is the odor mitigation clause within the host community agreement between Flower Power Growers and the town.

Kuklewicz said that although he doesn’t doubt the validity of the data presented by Flower Power Growers from their contractors and internal investigations, he believes an extended study within the industrial park by a third-party consultant and a longer study could be beneficial.

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.