Council calls for vendor moratorium

The Whitefish City Council directed staff on Monday to come back with a moratorium on new downtown food-vending permits until the current ordinance can be repealed.

"I want to stop operating under this ordinance," councilor Turner Askew said, adding that he hasn't been able to use the existing criteria to turn down an applicant.

Councilor Bill Kahle agreed, saying enforcement was the issue.

"We have no way to tell if the vendors are following the rules," he said, adding that the police have plenty of work to do already.

The vote in favor of bringing back an urgency ordinance stopping new permits was 4-2, with councilors Askew, Kahle, Chris Hyatt and Phil Mitchell in favor and councilors John Muhlfeld and Ryan Friel in opposition.

The vote followed a motion by Friel to "tweak" the current ordinance that was defeated 4-2 along the same council lines.

Five people addressed the council on the issue, including Second Street Pizza owner Dave Sheeran, the only person currently holding a downtown food vending permit. Saying the attacks on his business had left "a bad taste in my mouth," Sheeran reminded the councilors that he was complying with the ordinance.

Three workers from the Red Caboose Diner, however, told the council that Sheeran's night time vending business across the street was taking business away from the diner.