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City Council Minutes Page 4 <br />March 5, 2018 <br />----------------------------- <br />Councilmember Olsen disagreed stating staff has been very creative with planning <br />the event and he believes it is good to start small. <br /> <br />Mayor Dietz concurred with Councilmember Olsen stating the city has nothing to <br />lose by trying the event out. He further noted the Elk River Area Chamber tried <br />having an event at Lake Orono but got tired of it because they couldn’t get <br />volunteers, noting people don’t want to work around the Independence holiday. He <br />stated he would love for a community group to step up and plan it. <br /> <br /> Moved by Councilmember Olsen and seconded by Mayor Dietz to direct city <br />staff to prepare for an Elk River community summer festival for Saturday, July <br />7, 2018. Motion carried 4-1. Councilmember Wagner opposed. <br /> <br />Moved by Mayor Dietz and seconded by Councilmember Olsen to name the <br />event Elk River Fest. Motion carried 5-0. <br /> <br />9.4 Food Truck Licensing <br /> <br /> Ms. Allard presented the staff report. <br /> <br /> Councilmember Westgaard stated the key to this new ordinance is to monitor it <br />during this first year to see how congestion and other factors work. He stated this is <br />an opportunity to test having food trucks in the community. <br /> <br /> Frank Galli, Pompeii Pizzeria, stated he doesn’t support food trucks because the <br />downtown is fragile. He stated downtown wasn’t doing well 10 years ago. He cited <br />the City of Duluth’s ordinance stating food trucks must maintain a specified distance <br />from restaurants. He stated food trucks don’t help his business. He questioned why <br />Aegir located in downtown Elk River if they need a food truck to operate. <br /> <br /> Fred McCoy, McCoy’s Pub, expressed concerns with one truck applying for the <br />downtown spot for long periods of time. <br /> <br /> Mayor Dietz further expressed concerns with allowing one truck to monopolize the <br />designated parking area. <br /> <br /> Steve Hickman, representing Daddy-O’s, expressed safety concerns and suggested <br />distance requirements from restaurants be put in place. <br /> <br /> Councilmember Westgaard reviewed past meeting discussions regarding the options <br />considered and the difficulty of selecting a location for trucks. He stated this <br />particular location was selected because of the space it allowed for customers at the <br />counter. He noted Council really struggled with where it would make sense to allow <br />trucks without limiting competition. <br /> <br /> <br />