Hot Dog Man?s fate still under discussion
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Where?s the twist? The motion was made by Alderman Rick Barnes and seconded by Alderman Bobby Kirby, members of the current ad hoc committee that drafted the ordinance. It was a strange occurrence that didn?t slip by Vice Mayor Patti Nunley who asked, ?May I ask for what reason? I thought you took part in the changes.?
?We just received a copy of the ordinance yesterday,? said Barnes. ?I would like to have a chance to review the written copy.?
Once the motion was made to postpone the voting, it also postponed any meaningful discussion the board may have had regarding the ordinance with Mayor Royce Davenport stopping all discussion by saying, ?The motion on the floor is to defer consideration of the ordinance during this meeting. You can?t go into consideration of it while you are considering a motion to defer.?
After the board passed the motion to defer, a special ad hoc committee meeting was scheduled to discuss specifics of the ordinance with anyone interested. At that meeting, talk once again turned to ?The Hot Dog Man? Brian Curran and his cart.
?I can?t just pick any cart and say I?m going to serve hot dogs off it,? said Curran. ?It has to be certified by the health department. It has to have hot and cold running water. There are things I have to provide for health. A small pushcart won?t serve. I just don?t understand. My cart was good enough before but now it?s not.?
With the renovations downtown, there are concerns sidewalks will not support the weight of a vehicle pushing a cart onto the sidewalk on a regular basis without causing damage. Pushcarts also allow vendors to move freely around the square which will keep them from blocking sidewalks.
?My cart is moveable,? said Curran. ?It has a movable wheel on the front, but I take it off when I get located. I could just leave it on. I could use ramps to get the thing up on the sidewalk, so I won?t damage the sidewalk.?
If Curran?s cart can be pushed instead of pulled and he can get it up on the sidewalk without backing a vehicle onto the sidewalk, he is within the proposed ordinance and will be allowed on Court Square, according to ad hoc committee chairman Donald Hillis.
?I don?t think there?s anyone who doesn?t want you downtown,? Kirby told Curran. ?I think we are trying to protect what goes on.?