Christian Peterson: Reporter@riverbendnews.org
On Monday, June 12, the Mayo Town Council met for its regularly scheduled meeting. First, the council amended the agenda to include an amendment required for the Community Block Development Grant (CDBG). They then moved into the public comment section. Jack and Rita Howdeshell were the first to speak with a complaint about the food trucks on the property next to theirs. They explained that, due to the fact that the cars visiting the food truck could not park on the property, they were creating large congestion along the road. Rita went on to explain she had an altercation with a customer at the food truck when she was blocked in her own driveway, and the customer ended up following her around town until she went to the sheriff's office. Garret Land from the county explained the best way to fix the problem would be to review the Land Development Regulations (LDR). The council assured the Howdeshells they would look into the matter further.
The next item was JJM Rentals, who were requesting an amendment to the LDR. Barry Lawson explained Family Dollar was planning on expanding to add a Dollar Tree. However, due to the LDR, this would require more parking spots to be added. Yet, there is no available property to build more parking on. However, if the Dollar Tree is not added, then Family Dollar plans to pull their lease and leave Lafayette County. The council agreed to get the amendment process started.
Next was a conversation about the current peddler's license. Different food truck owners stood up to say they had done some research and discovered other counties and municipalities were charging anywhere from zero to $150 a year for a peddler's license, while Mayo was charging $50 a week. They acknowledged that, since they were mobile, they didn't pay a lot of assessment fees mortar buildings did. Thus, they requested the license fee be changed to $200 a year. The council wanted to workshop the idea and tabled it for a later date.
The meeting ended with Sampson Edwards handing the council some pricing sheets he had found for trucks he was interested in getting for the town. Although, he acknowledged he hadn't decided which one would be best yet. The meeting was then adjourned. The next Mayo Town Council meeting will be held on Monday, July 10, at 7 p.m. in the Mayo Town Hall, located at 276 W Main St., in Mayo.