Second look: City’s transient vendor rules are back on council table

Posted 8/20/15

In May, the Powell City Council denied Brenda Mattson’s request for an ordinance change so she could operate her food trailer for patrons leaving the bars at closing time, 2 a.m., and to serve breakfast before the majority of the morning customers …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Second look: City’s transient vendor rules are back on council table

Posted

Revising the rules for Powell’s transient vendors is back on the menu for the Powell City Council.

In May, the Powell City Council denied Brenda Mattson’s request for an ordinance change so she could operate her food trailer for patrons leaving the bars at closing time, 2 a.m., and to serve breakfast before the majority of the morning customers go to work at 8 a.m.

Under current city ordinances, food trucks and trailers can’t operate outside of the 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. timeframe because they are under the same set of rules as door-to-door salesmen — the reasoning behind the request’s denial.

Mattson returned to the council on Monday evening. This time it appears there might be a way for Powell to have its biscuits and gravy and eat them too, without worrying about door-to-door salesmen showing up.

Riverton and Greybull allow for transient vendors, but with restrictions on hours of operation, Mattson said.

In Riverton, vendors can operate from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. within certain locations. Greybull’s vendors are expected to operate within the hours approved along with their city application, Mattson said.

Mattson’s food trailer had only two customers from 2:30-6:30 p.m. and not enough breakfast customers from 8-10 a.m. to pay the bills, she said.

“We have followed all the rules, and we feel that we should be allowed to serve breakfast and the late-night crowd if we want to,” Brenda Mattson said. “This isn’t paying our bills. It is our livelihood, and it isn’t cutting it; and we need to find out what we can do to expand our hours.”

Customers have asked why they don’t serve breakfast before 8 a.m. When they learn the reason why, the response is “Well, that’s dumb,” Mattson said.

“We asked last time to be separated from the transient vendors, and it was stated that would be discriminatory, and discrimination applies to us, as far as we are under the umbrella same as door-to-door salesmen,” Mattson said. She noted that she was informed that door-to-door salesmen do not have to have a permit with the city. “They are allowed to knock on doors, they are allowed more freedoms than we are as residents, and I feel that is discriminatory.”

Mattson has sold food in the American Legion parking lot by paying a daily fee since the middle of May. She is required to pass health inspections and pay taxes just the same as any other business where food is prepared, Mattson said.

If Mattson remained in that spot for 90 days straight, the restrictions of being a transient merchant would no longer apply, said Powell City Attorney Sandee Kitchen.

But the trailer gets taken home each night to be stocked and cleaned, and to prevent potential vandalism, Mattson said.

“It is a gray area,” Councilman Eric Paul said.  

Powell city ordinances restrict peddlers, solicitors and transient merchants, Kitchen said. The council could decide to treat them all the same, or have different hours of operation allowed for transient merchants.

“If we had a problem, we would stiffen our definition of a transient merchant,” said Councilman John Wetzel.

The city can also require peddlers and solicitors to register, Kitchen said.

“You didn’t require the license because you didn’t want Girl Scouts or FFA to have to register,” Kitchen said to the council. “The hours you choose are up to you also. You can separate out all transient merchants for separate hours.”

Mayor Don Hillman said he had no issues with the 6 a.m. opening time request made in May.

“The market will determine what your hours are going to be,” Paul said. “At the end of the day, when you are and aren’t getting business is going to determine when you are operating.”

There is no way of knowing now, since there are no restaurants open late in Powell. Not even the grocery stores are open when the bars close, leaving gas station food as the only option for late-night customers, Mattson said.

Wetzel suggested drafting a 24-hour ordinance for vendors such as Mattson to be presented to the council for its first reading on Tuesday, Sept. 8.

Comments