Local eatery owners bring concerns before City Council

By CALEB NELSON

Adair County Free Press

Katie Huff has taken over management of the Tiger Drive-In in the last year, but she and other local restaurant owners presented their case to the Greenfield city council at its meeting last Tuesday evening saying peddler fees the city imposes on food trucks should increase.

Currently, Greenfield’s fee charged to vendors such as the Little Green Trailer, which has been frequenting the town recently, is $50. Tom and Tammy Walk, owners of The Corner, and Gabe Galanakis of The Olive Branch have all been involved in talks to see if Greenfield can level its playing field for merchants by raising the peddler fee.

Huff, for instance, takes pride in The Tiger Drive-In, how it has been a longtime staple in the community and how she is able to employee local youngsters looking for a job.

“I went to school for hotel and restaurant management. I worked at the Drive-In right out of college and bounced around to a few different towns, but when the Drive-In came up for sale my parents and I talked about buying it,” Huff said. “I love what I do and it’s hard when other people come in and take our revenue and don’t have to pay anything.”

While Greenfield’s peddler fee is what it is, Creston and Winterset presently have fees that are much higher.

Creston currently charges $1,000 annually while Winterset has discounts for those wanting to set up who are from Winterset. It charges $25 per week or $150 per month, but if you’re a resident it is a $100 fee annually. Orient requires food trucks prove they’re not directly competing with brick and mortar establishments when they’re set up.

“Competition is great, but we feel there should be a level playing field. We pay property taxes to Greenfield with our businesses and homes, we live here and we give back to the community,” Huff said. “These food trucks can come in from bigger towns and only pay $50 and we just asked them to rethink it so we can do something similar to what other towns do in the area and be just as competitive.”

The City Council gave a favorable response to Huff and others concerned, saying they’d look into the matter and possibly discuss it.

“They’re going to have it on the agenda for the next meeting I believe as a possible action item,” Greenfield City Clerk Rebecca Haase said. “The council seemed to think the rate should come up a little bit and make it a little more level playing field. I think the council kind of had mixed feelings on it because they don’t want people who might want to bring a business to town to not feel welcome, but they want to protect the local brick and mortar.”

In other action, the council approved a budget ammendment for fiscal year 2018 totalling $9.76 million due to the new wastewater treatment plant’s construction being ahead of schedule.

The council also set a public hearing date for the next meeting, Nov. 21, to enter into a Sewer Revenue Loan and Disbursement Agreement and to borrow money in a principal amount not to exceed $6 million. They set a public hearing date for another matter — entering into a General Obligation Sewer Improvement Loan and Disbursement Agreement in a principal amount not to exceed $3.5 million dollars.

The council also approved the city employees’ health insurance for the upcoming year.