Public hearing Monday on food trucks downtown

The city of Graham is holding a public hearing Monday to receive community input on a draft policy allowing food trucks on the downtown square.

A draft policy was approved by the Graham City Council during their meeting Thursday, Feb. 29. Under the draft policy, three food truck spaces would be allotted on a first-come, first-serve basis on the southern half of the square.

The vendors must register with the Graham code enforcement officer to be eligible for a space. If the number of entries exceeded the three on the policy, a random selection would be made.

“Say it fills up and you have more that come in, then you would make everybody that is submitting for that particular period... put their names in a hat and draw them out until you get to three spaces,” City Manager Eric Garretty said.

The hours of operation for food trucks on the square would be Sundays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The city may offer other dates of availability on a case-by-case basis, such as in conjunction with an event where food trucks are present.

The vendors must comply with the city ordinances and have a health inspection certificate, a valid sales tax certificate and proof of liability insurance. The vendors will be responsible for utilities such as electrical, water service, wastewater disposal and solid waste removal.

A $30 permit fee per rental instance will be assessed for an allotment on the square. The city has the right to revoke any food truck vendor permit in instances of misconduct by the vendor, failure to maintain cleanliness of the space or failure to maintain compliance with the policy.
The city manager said the policy will still need more work and the council will have to pass a resolution in the future if they wish to enact it.  

Three individuals in the city reached out to the city manager regarding food trucks and brick and mortar restaurants in the city and primarily on the downtown square.

“All of them said they’re not averse to competition, but the issue is a brick and mortar restaurant is going to have higher overhead than a food truck so they don’t feel like they are making a level playing field in the same competitive area. That is pretty much a consistent comment that I got,” he said.

Council member Jack Little said he wanted the council to come to a solution that would be beneficial to both sides.

“We have to figure out what’s fair to both parties. …We have to take employees (into consideration). I mean, there’s a lot we have to consider but be fair to both parties and be fair to the constituents, the citizens, of this town,” he said. “It’s a tough call but we’ve got to figure it out where it’s fair to everybody.”

After receiving a request in January to have a food truck once a month on the Graham downtown square, the Graham City Council tabled and then denied the request Thursday, Feb. 15 in order to host a public hearing and have the public voice their concerns or support.

During the meeting in February, councilman Little invited all interested parties to come voice their opinions at the meeting next week.

“I think it would be good if… the food truck vendors, the brick and mortar and the citizens would holler at us to let us know their opinions,” he said. “We’re still trying to gather facts and try to come up with something that’s fair for everybody.”