Metro Council President Jim King left a comment here on the site last night:
I’d be glad to hear your ideas on how to improve the situation. I think we all thought we were making it better for food truck operators by eliminating the site licenses and going to truck licenses. My goal is to improve our business climate while protecting the public and I’d be happy to sponsor further amendments that address any impediments to that goal. Would you like to have a coke and discuss this? Jim
We’d take him up on his offer of a Coke (Zero, of course) if this matter hadn’t been exhaustively discussed for nearly a year. The specifics have been hashed and rehashed. And Metro Council still does whatever Greg Fischer’s folks tell it to do. Like adding red tape while wrongly assuming keeping barriers in place is a good thing for business and taxes.
We’d much rather spend our time discussing more pressing matters in Louisville that no one on Metro Council, save Kelly Downard, wants to discuss like: Metro Animal Services, wasting our tax dollars on frivolous crap, giving Insight a monopoly, playing pat-a-cake with MSD, allowing Planning and Zoning folks to further jack the city up, why they continue to allow Cordish to rake in millions, brain drain, making this city functional for pedestrians and cyclists, yadda yadda.
But even then there’s too much concern about whether or not there’d be another rubber stamping of whatever Greg Fischer wants.
It takes guts to leave a comment here and that’s to be commended. It proves people are paying attention. But. Why Jim King thinks the man he essentially said on television and the campaign trail was a business failure is capable of making these sorts of decisions, we’ll never know.
P.S. Since we apparently have to repeatedly point out why this move by King and Fischer is RIDICULOUS? We’ll let a commenter from this morning explain it:
People are confused and dismayed by the new food truck ordinance because it is not what was worked on, discussed, agreed on and expected by the owners and operators.
- The new ordinance makes it impossible to have events like the Truckus Ruckus.
- Or to have a selection of food trucks at a public event (unless they are 25′ from each other.
- Makes the trucks submit their locations for the year at the time of licensing. Absolutely impossible.
- If the background check rule applied to restaurants, well, there would be a lot less staff in all the kitchens in town. While the background check makes some sense for ice cream trucks that sell mostly to children (often unsupervised children) the rule makes no sense for food trucks.
- Submitting dimensional layouts of parking lots is ludicrous, unnecessary and serves no purpose.
- Requiring a notarized permission letter of the property owner is often impossible. When trucks park in an office parking lot, the actual owner of the property may be a mega corporation in another state.
And it goes on and on. This ordinance doesn’t cut the red tape, it increases the red tape to the point of being an obviously ploy to drive these entrepreneurs out of business.
Impossibility city.
14 responses so far ↓
1 JTT // Oct 21, 2011 at 2:37 pm
Mr. King, the problem is NOT really the ordinance, it is that you guys didn’t realize that IPL was going to inflict the old regs on the trucks. Most of the problems are in the regulations, which are not in your purview, unless you want to simply put all those details IN an ordinance. (And yes, they could do that, although it isn’t the norm to do so.)
2 JTT // Oct 21, 2011 at 2:58 pm
Funny thing is, the ordinance passed doesn’t even touch truck license vs. site license.
3 axel // Oct 21, 2011 at 5:31 pm
Two ways to take Kings posting on this site?..It can be viewed as sincere request to attempt to hear and understand a realistic program that would work for these entrepreneurs ? OR it can be taken as whats always happened in the past, it’s probably just posturing to “CYA” so he can say we have listened and done everything we can.
I wonder when this city will get tired of these mental midgets imposing what it is” THEY” think is the way things should be? When will the business community get tired of being “Bullied” by the City. King will do no more then have a round of meetings to demonstrate he’s communicated, but will do NOTHING to Change the current of how this STUPID Process works.Surely he can’t be that dumb!.. to look at what these details and think that it helps the operator. Maybe he’s reading a different draft or something?
The Food Truck operators simply are being MADE to Challenge the blatant discrimination, right to work,selective enforcement, and interference from these people who call themselves “Elected” Councilmen that are supposed to be making FAIR decisions!…and crafting regulations that spur & enhance the opportunity to do business in this community.
I just wonder who on that Councilmens board has Actually seen or visited any of these Food Trucks that are wanting to attempt to bring Louisville up to Date, on something that’s going on ALL Over the Country.
Some of these trucks are actually works of art! Some of their products are borderline gourmet signature items.
Why the Huge resistance to something like this ,when it’s not too different from any food booth at any city event at Waterfront Park, St. James Art Fair, any # of events….What the Hell is the problem here ?….I mean Really, You have got to be kidding me that something as simple as this ,gets SO OVER-COMPLICATED !….A perfect example of NON-LEADERSHIP…if 26 of these Fucking Idiots can’t figure this out & make our community climate a welcome and business friendly environment there should be a mechanism to pull all their plugs, and start over.
Look how far they bent the locals over on the Cordish deal with special treatment to REMOVE roadblocks to allow them to do what ever they wanted. Not ONLY did they not have to follow the same rules as others , the city created a whole new DISTRICT and let Cordish tell them how it had to be!
Now a few ambitious folks trying to bang out a living in this shifty economy can’t get a permit to sell a sandwich , and there are treated like the “HUNS” are attacking the city!
This City needs to CLEAN the Slate and just get rid of these old corrupt Hacks! Someone with some Common sense needs to Get in Charge.The whole Process is screwed up beyond belief and this type of thing PROVES it!
4 GtownReader // Oct 21, 2011 at 10:56 pm
Jake – just saying. If you don’t accept Jim King’s invitation to meet on this matter, you lose some credibility with me. All whine & no cheese. All pomp & no circumstance. This invite, regardless motive or outcome, should be embraced as another op for you to put your money where your mouth is — and I believe you want nothing but the best for these food truck ventures.
5 jake // Oct 22, 2011 at 11:48 am
Why on earth would I take an hour out of my day to go tell Jim King what’s already been written and discussed for a year? Particularly when I can call him and he’ll pick up any time of day? (Note: His frequent comments here should make it clear that we know each other)
I’m not going to bat for these folks who poo-pood doing the right thing from the get go.
I save meetings for issues that are way more important than food trucks, animal services directors and such. Not that they don’t matter.
6 The Highlander // Oct 22, 2011 at 12:50 pm
Jake: With all due respect, it’s been my experience in life that a refusal to meet or the rejection of an opportunity to meet only leads to more confusion and less progress. I can cite hundreds of examples, beginning with Bush’s refusal for 8 years to conduct diplomacy with Iran, Netanyahou’s prior refusals to meet with the PLO and/or Hamas, to the local level where Comb-over Jim refuses to open the books and the inside ‘deal’ on his sale of the PUBLIC HOSPITAL for $300m (which he and his university plan to keep!!!!).
I agree w/G-town. An hour is little more than a sand pebble in a gallon jar. Meaningless in the greater scheme of things.
7 jake // Oct 22, 2011 at 1:15 pm
Really? I have to spell this out for you? I know Jim. I don’t have to meet with him to discuss anything. I know him well enough to know what will and will not be accomplished.
You folks know enough about him to know what will and will not change. What can/will be changed will happen regardless of whether or not I waste an hour of my day. Yes, it would be an hour of wasted time. If these issues were new or we hadn’t already spent months discussing them? It may be a different story.
An hour of my time is worth a lot this time of an election year when 95% of my time is spent outside Jefferson County.
Big pro-tip, since I apparently have to spell it out: I don’t plan on spending my time to help folks who refuse to help themselves. The food truckers refused to listen several months ago (I even set up meetings, made connections, helped people get their businesses going) but they’re all coming to me now for help. A couple food truckers did listen and did the right things, the rest fell victim to cheerleading and fluff.
I don’t have the time or interest to personally involve myself in their drama – I’m not an activist. Not a lobbyist. I write about political things and that’s the extent of it. I’m not the answer to solving problems. Raising awareness, sure.
While it seems like the food truck issue is high on my radar, keep in mind that this is just our local site. It’s one of many issues I’ve written about this week and is but a blip overall.
Jim doesn’t have a comb over, either. As a bald person, I am keenly aware of hair issues.
8 ValleyGirl // Oct 22, 2011 at 1:25 pm
And ultimately, if anyone should meet, it needs to be the folks with the actual issue. The food truck isn’t isn’t Jake’s issue, he doesn’t speak for them nor does he have an special insight into their particular needs. It sounds like they have been meeting with the Mayor’s office (which has some control over regulations) but not with the Metro Council that passed the ordinance that has caused all the furor. Two different branches of governnment are in play here – and it is pretty obvious that they aren’t actually communicating to make sure that the ordinance supports the anticipated regulatory scheme. It isn’t brain surgery, but is sounds like they simply aren’t commnicating in anything like a coordinated fashion.
Jim King says he wants to talk – so, food truck folks, CALL HIM.
9 jake // Oct 22, 2011 at 2:10 pm
I do have insight into their particular needs and have written about them. But I’m not in their business and am not their spokesperson.
A few have met with the mayor’s office and they were apparently snowed by what they thought was a big deal meeting.
They’ve met with council folks and communicated with them. Even with Jim King.
Both of those branches of government are communicating. Jim has become a yes man for Greg Fischer.
10 Chief // Oct 22, 2011 at 9:55 pm
Just cause King or any of the Councilmembers meet with you is not a guarantee that they are going to do anything different or in your favor.I’m sure any of the Food & Beverage operators in this city could outline something functional that these Food Trucks could operate under & live with. A huge part of the problem is that the people attempting to structure the plan don’t have experience in the space they are dealing with….So most of the time they do what someone else tells them. They demonstrated this with the Cordish deal, they did exactly as Jerry TOLD them to do, most of them did not even READ the deal….Who do you think on that Council has any knowledge or experience operating a Food Truck?…..It would be the best think for king and some other councilmen to met with the operators, let them draft an outline of the reg/ordinance & then review it to try & give them what they want and need. I see no reason to not approach it in such a manner, Thats exactly what they let CORDISH do, and then GAVE Cordish Millions on top of that.The Food Truck operators might be able to just circle up inside 4th street in any more places close down there?
11 The Highlander // Oct 23, 2011 at 3:28 pm
Jake: Comb-over Jim, to whom I refer, is NOT Jim King. It’s Jimbo Ramsey — and, believe me, Jimbo has a comb-over.
12 jake // Oct 23, 2011 at 4:15 pm
Actually, it’s so bad that I’m not sure we can classify THAT as a comb-over.
13 The Highlander // Oct 23, 2011 at 6:16 pm
Jake: I have a better one. How ’bout a ‘strand-or-two over.’?
14 jake // Oct 23, 2011 at 7:10 pm
How about… he just needs to shave his damn head like I do.
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