Riley sworn-in as city clerk; council talks mobile food vendor regs
NELSON COUNTY GAZETTE/ WBRT RADIO
STAFF REPORT
Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2017 — Mary Riley was officially approved by the Bardstown City Council as the new city clerk Tuesday evening during the council’s monthly working session.
At City Hall, Riley has formerly served as executive assistant to the mayor and as an administrative assistant in the city’s engineering department.
Mayor Dick Heaton told the council Riley had been serving as acting clerk since Barbie Bryant’s recent retirement. Following the council’s unanimous approval, Heaton administered the oath of office.
COUNCILMAN DAVID DONES
MOBILE FOOD VENDOR DISCUSSION. City Attorney Tim Butler asked the council if it wished to consider possible modifications to the mobile food vendor ordinance that it just amended last month.
A mobile food vendor applied for a license, but questions arose because the ordinance specifies the food vendor’s mobile unit must be “self-contained.” In this instance, the question was if the vendor was allowed to have a grill separate from the mobile unit on which to prepare food.
After Butler explained some of the history behind the ordinance, the question came down to simply this: Does the council want to change the ordinance to allow mobile food vendors to use freestanding grills or other devices?
CITY ATTORNEY TIM BUTLER
Councilman David Dones said he felt the term “self-contained” was a reference to necessary utilities to operate the unit — water supply, fuel, electric power, etc. The ordinance uses the term “self-contained” but fails to define what it means, and if that requirement would rule out a vendor’s use of a grill or external cooking device.
If the intent of the ordinance is to prohibit vendors from using external cooking devices, it should clearly define the terms and their intent, Dones said.
A review of other city’s mobile food vendor ordinances vary widely in how tightly they regulate the mobile vending unit.
The ordinance for Traverse City, Mich., doesn’t state that an external grill or smoker is prohibited, while the ordinance in Knoxville, Tenn., not only allows grills and smokers, but provides rules for how a vendor will mark the units and protect the public from making contact with them.
The council discussed the issue but took no action.
CABLE TV, INTERNET RATE CHANGES. Jeff Mills, city electrical engineer presented the council with details of an ordinance that mostly impact those who those who only subscribe to city cable or the city’s internet individually.
Those who subscribe to both — which represents the majority of subscribers — will see a minor rate decrease.
Cable TV-only subscribers will see their cable bill drop by about $3, while cable internet-only subscribers will see their bill increase by $3.
Customers who subscribe to both will see a decrease of about 60 cents.
The intent of the change is to shift some of the system costs from the cable TV operation to the cable internet. Cable TV is slowly losing subscribers, while cable internet continues to increase its subscriber numbers.
Rate hikes in cable TV are due primarily to increasing programming costs, which are passed through to subscribers at cost, Mills explained.
The new proposed rate changes would be effective Sept. 1, 2017. The council did not take action. Approving the changes will require a first and second reading by the council.
JOB DESCRIPTIONS. The council gave final approval to changes in the city’s classification and compensation plan to reflect changing duties within city government. The council also approved municipal orders to add job new job descriptions, update others and eliminate the outdated ones.
The job titles eliminated include: executive assistant to the mayor, risk and facilities manager, groundskeeper, and janitor (part-time).
The new job titles include: Human Resources Director / Risk Manager; Groundskeeper / Facilities Manager; Assistant City Clerk; Maintenance Worker I / Admin.; administrative assistant / property room technician; Parks & Recreation administrative assistant; and Staff Engineer.
In other business, the council:
— awarded the city’s asphalt paving bid to Mago Construction Co. LLC.
NEXT UP. The Bardstown City Council next meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017.
Editor’s Note: Luke Wathen contributed to this story.
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