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Food for thought | News, Sports, Jobs – Martins Ferry Times Leader
BARNESVILLE — A divided Village Council on Monday again tabled the matter of allowing mobile food vendors to operate on village-owned lots as Mayor Dale Bunting came under fire from a council member for reportedly discouraging participation and transparency.
At a meeting held May 10, council voted to allow Two Stack Bar-B-Que, owned and operated by residents Jacquetta and Randy Stephen, to set up and sell food in a village-owned parking lot adjacent to Main Street as part of the five-year anniversary of the Blue Moon Tavern. Members also scheduled a work session to discuss the possibility of enacting a system by which they and other vendors could be permitted to use such sites on a more regular basis.
The only decision made after that work session, however, was to permit a different vendor to set up on a one-time basis.
At Monday’s council meeting, with a contingent of interested residents present, council members expressed varying opinions on the matter.
Councilman Tony Johnson said he had asked a number of village restaurant owners about the matter.
“They’re not really in favor of having a food vendor parking across the street from their business. I think those village lots are prime real estate and could give the mobile vendors an unfair advantage,” Johnson said.
Johnson added other business owners felt the food trucks could be a good thing and bring traffic to town.
“Those parking lots are for the public,” Johnson concluded. “If we start giving them out to certain people for certain things we end up favoring one way or the other.”
He later said a compromise could allow food vendors to set up on the village-owned B&O Railroad Depot property away from the downtown area.
Councilman Les Tickhill pointed out there are a number of privately owned lots in the village on which food trucks set up, while Johnson said he felt that even in those cases there should be a fee to operate in the village.
Councilman Jamie Betts agreed that a fee to operate would be reasonable and referenced a draft contract agreement that had been provided by Jacquetta Stephen for council to consider as a way forward.
Councilman Terry McCort said he had been against the food trucks setting up in the lot by the Blue Moon Tavern because he felt the village should not be involved in enhancing the sale of alcohol or a party atmosphere, adding, “But I guess through social media and other things that this got twisted around to where village council was against food trucks, but we’re not.”
McCort said he had been contacted by one local owner who believed the trucks did hurt their business. He also said he didn’t understand why the village lot had to be involved when there were other nearby private lots that were available to vendors who wanted to set up.
Community Development Director Bill Knox pointed out that the village has made a significant investment in the downtown area in recent years and said having mobile vendors is an opportunity to create excitement in that area.
Councilman Tim McKelvey said he was in favor of having the food trucks on village lots but added there are considerations about when and for how long it would be allowed.
“I think if we have food trucks and do it in an orderly fashion it will be good,” he said, pointing out that if they try it and are not happy with it they can suspend the practice.
Betts agreed and said he felt the draft provided by Stephen was well done and could be adjusted to fit their needs but said he didn’t think they were at a point where they could vote on the matter.
Councilman Scott Gallagher said he was also in favor of the food trucks with a fee system in place.
After it was revealed that Mayor Bunting had held a conversation with Jacquetta Stephen and discouraged her from attending the meeting, telling her that he would speak with council members about their conversation, Councilman Betts spoke up.
“We are supposed to have open meetings with public input. We are not supposed to have secret meetings behind closed doors or on the phone to discuss village issues,” Betts said. “I’ve been talking about this since I was elected initially. We are not operating the way we are supposed to operate.”
McKelvey asked that the matter be tabled, saying, “We’re going downhill here.”
Bunting said he felt that the recent posts on social media about the matter only made village officials feel that they had been backed in a corner.
The matter was tabled without any decision being made.
Published at Tue, 08 Jun 2021 04:52:30 +0000
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