The Dickson City Council met Monday night for their monthly meeting to discuss several items on their agenda. One item in particular was to create regulations for mobile food vendors. In fact, this would go into specific detail for event permits and the fee for them.
Mayor Weiss allowed three people to speak about their perspective of mobile food trucks, which included Trey Stroud, Jamie Joe, and Dan Smith.
Mr. Stroud is the owner and operator of Kona Ice and gave several reasons for allowing mobile food trucks. Stroud stated that there are several disadvantages to mobile businesses such as weather, but also the additional factor of this is their primary source of income. Additionally, he added that mobile food vendors bring commerce to Dickson and not just their business. Moreover, this creates a way for them to give back to the community and be a good community sponsor.
Next, Mrs. Joe is the president of the Nashville Food Truck Association and agreed with Mr. Stroud. Joe stated in agreement to allow mobile food vendors to operate under the city at a more affordable fee structure. Additionally, she added that the sales tax goes back to Davidson County, but permit fees are in place to offset that for Dickson.
Mr. Smith also spoke in agreement to both of them; however, wants to limit mobile food vendors to special events.
After hearing all three perspectives, Councilwoman Stacey Levine stated that she has several ideas for this and wants this to be done correctly. So, she then asked for the possibility of having a committee be put together to further discuss this issue and hopefully come to a successful outcome.
Mayor Weiss then deferred this issue to vote on in the January meeting. In the meantime, Mayor Weiss will be selecting a small committee to look into this further.