The city said there was no other permits issued for the food trucks. They sent a copy of the city press release about the show coming to Fayetteville. The article said the truck’s were at thw Farmer’s Market, Dickson and Sam’s Club.

That is good to hear. Where can we go to see rough drafts of the changes?

Also FYI, Bentonville copied our Mobile Food Vendor ordinance exactly and added one thing: permanent location for vendors on private lots. We’re going to leapfrog that and add a limited number of locations on public property.

RE “I have a hard time understanding the ideas/direction that come out of our city council.”
In the case of ordinances, the city relies on established law and consultation with its staff in areas affected by new ordinances. Further, Arkansas is a limited home-rule state, so the state has some control over city ordinances. Fayetteville’s mobile food vendor ordinances are similar to those in other cities, if not those in Bentonville. You can’t really blame the council for the specifics of ordinances.

It doesn’t matter how backwards the system appears to be; it is still the system that must be dealt with initially. I hope that with more constructive input from more people, more can be accomplished in the direction of accommodating food trucks than has been accomplished so far.

Not sure if I have all the permits requested for the entire weekend. I followup and post when I get comfirmation…

I have a hard time understanding the ideas/direction that come out of our city council.

Okay, maybe I have a bit of an idea. Matthew Petty reads the Flyer. I’m sure there are comments elsewhere– like the Ozarks at Large piece. The city might have received calls and e-mails. The Farmers’ Market was apparently a good show of practical interest. Probably the greatest , and easiest to track, show of interest would be having a bunch of potential food truck owners react to the interest expressed at the Farmers’ Market, here and elsewhere by asking for a meeting with the planning department about writing food truck ordinances. It would almost certainly be more productive than sniping. If it isn’t clear to the city that people are more interested in food trucks than in making trouble, the city will just wait until more suitable interest appears.

There is about 2 and a half months to get ready to change that by having talking points prepared ahead of time. Folks should also be contacting media outlets to let them know who are subject matter experts with inside knowledge that would make interesting interview. Remember, you have to sell them on the fact that you would make more compelling television (or radio, or print) than the “guy on the street” interview.

Otherwise, nothing changes.

CG

If the Food Network wanted a show about city politics and the red tape in setting up a food truck business or about the backlash of brick and mortar food establishments, it would probably be called something other than “The Great Food Truck Race”. It would also probably have a format more in line with a documentary and not “reality TV”.

It appears from the conversation that there is a misconception that “reality” television is 100% real life. A better name for “reality T.V.” would be “unscripted television” where the production company sets up a situation and films the result. After that, it is edited into an entertaining television program complete with a cliff hanger timed right before each commercial break.

It also appears that a lot of folks are hung up over the statement that each of the vendors is responsible to get all of their own permits and approval from the city. Again, it is the responsibly of the production company to get the show that the Food Network wants. They know about all the red tape, this is after all the third season for the show. The production company has a tool called a “NDA” or non-disclosure agreement. Basically the production company works on behalf of the show well in advance of the filming of the show to make sure that all of the surprises are under total control of the production company. Keep in mind, part of the show is about the surprise to the competitors where they will be each week.

This is still a show about food. Food that is served to the public, at a charge, as a business, and from a potentially hazardous work environment, and all of that is regulated by multiple entities, any of which have the ability to stop the event at any time. Also, the last thing the city, the state, and the Food Network want is any bad publicity about the event about someone from getting sick, or hurt from the event. A food borne illness or injury from the event would certainly grab headlines.

As far as “outside vendors”, did I mention about the production company having total control over the event?

As far as late arrivals, at most events in Fayetteville, Bentonville, or anywhere else, the event organizer is in control of the event. They get to decide what vendors get to participate and have stipulations for the privilege. One stipulation is usually an up front fee paid by the vendor to get to be at the event. There also may be clauses for the event that require non-duplication of products and that food vendors have to get soft drinks and ice only from official event sponsors.

CG

1. When the show airs, Fayetteville looks bad for having a negative food truck vibe due to our policy.

2. The show makes Fayetteville appear to support and cultivate a food vendor vibe. Which is not reality.

Yes, I’ve listened to the Ozarks at Large piece– several times. However, I didn’t hear anything in it that would cause me to draw some of the conclusions you drew, or ask the question you asked. The issue of who applied for the permits and the ability of local vendors to participate in the event are irrelevant to the report, and nothing in it indicates that Fayetteville bypassed the the normal process by making it an event permit. If anything, the report indicated that there is no “normal process” for food trucks. As for favoring the food trucks for this event, in order to show bias you would have to show that other food truck owners had been denied requests to operate on the Square on only one Saturday morning for six hours during the Farmers’ Market; this also has nothing to do with the report.

I am as interested as you are to know if the permitting was done in advance, and if health and fire certifications were somehow expedited by reciprocity with other states, by looking the other way, or by whatever. other method. But I’m not going to allow my interest to cause me to make accusations or insinuations regarding the way the city handled the event.

Have you listened to the NPR report?

I was trying to provoke a discussion.
— You wrote, “It sounds like Fayetteville bypassed the the normal process by making it an ‘event’ permit.”
In response to that, I asked a perfectly reasonable question.
— You wrote, “I thought the rules stated the contestants would be required to get permits on thier own.”
That seems to imply that individuals don’t apply for event permits, and I responded to that implication in a matter-of-fact tone.
— You wrote, “It appears that the city favored the tv show contestants…. were local vendor given the chance to open at the ‘event’?”
I responded directly. However, I became a bit snarky at that point because your question seemed to merit snarkiness. What do local vendors have to do with this event?

RE “You just assumed I had no knowledge on the issue and attacked.”
I didn’t assume anything. I /asked/ you if you had looked into the matter, because your assertions were too vague to reflect a news report. You take reasonable questions and statements to be an attack, and want to blame me for that?

Would you have filed your FOIA request if you hadn’t been goaded? Would anybody have looked up information and posted links if a bunch of vague accusations and carping had been left to just hang in the air?