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posted by Bob at Saturday, July 14, 2007
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Saturday, July 14, 2007
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7 Comments:
$2 million worth of insurance to sell this?
St. Paul hot dog vendors are steamed by a new city rule requiring them to carry hefty liability coverage to operate their carts in the public right of way.
BY JASON HOPPIN
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 07/13/2007 11:22:51 PM CDT
A Joe's Hot Dogs vendor serves a customer outside St. Paul City Hall on Friday. (BRANDI JADE THOMAS, Pioneer Press)Rest assured that if you ever suffer a major calamity while visiting one of St. Paul's downtown hot dog carts, your injuries are covered by a $2 million insurance policy.
But that recent city requirement has some people - the kind of people who can't imagine how hot dogs could cause so much damage - up in arms.
"With God as my witness, we're lucky if we make $200 (in sales) a day," said Charles Belcher, proprietor of C.W.'s Juicy Fat Boys and Dogs in Lowertown. "We're the lowest thing on the food chain. Why dig in our pockets?"
Belcher said the requirement is cutting deeply into his profits, but he was still doing business.
Elsewhere, customers were snapping up the American staple and taking the vendors' side.
"I think that's ridiculous," said Jeff Lange, who enjoyed a dog at Joe's Hot Dogs outside City Hall, after he came there to pick up a building permit.
"Do your hot dogs come from China?" Ted Kolderie turned and asked a vendor, after being told of the policy.
"I would think and hope that (the requirement) will fade away," added Kolderie, who was craving a dog after skipping one at the previous night's Minnesota Twins game.
"They should have something, but $2 million seems a bit on the excessive side to me," said Steve Krieger, an Iowan visiting St. Paul with his wife.
The new requirement is not coming from the city's licensing department - which had its own tango with controversy when it busted a 7-year-old girl for selling lemonade near the 2003 State Fair - but from the city's public works department.
Because food vendors operate in the right of way, public works - a department used to dealing with sewer mains and not the ingredients in a good Chicago dog - oversees them.
When the department began examining its vendor rules in anticipation of the 2008 Republican National Convention, it decided to apply the same liability requirements it demands of utility companies and construction crews.
"Yeah, but you're talking people who are operating big machines who can get hurt," Belcher pointed out.
The city also wanted vendors to pay a $95 monthly fee - the same fee companies such as Qwest and Xcel Energy pay so their crews can set up at locations throughout the city. And that's on top of the $200 vendors pay to the city's licensing department.
"I've been in this business long enough to know that City Hall is tough to play with," sighed Joe's Hot Dogs owner Joe Keller.
Keller, who operates five carts, including two in St. Paul, said he already carries enough insurance because of the size of his business.
It is the latest twist in an odd drama among a small circle of St. Paul street vendors, who always seem to be fighting City Hall, and
Customer Frank Norton dresses up his hot dog Friday at the Joe s Hot Dogs cart outside St. Paul City Hall. (BRANDI JADE THOMAS, Pioneer Press)if not, fighting each other.
In 1993, Keller was charged with making threats after a pizza vendor said Keller threatened to shoot him. Keller said the case was resolved positively and that the vendor was upset about being turned in to the health department.
Keller also admitted a long-running feud with a West Seventh restaurateur who didn't like that Keller used to park a cart in front of his business.
"We each split a hot dog and made a truce," said Keller, who now parks there only on St. Patrick's Day.
The city also has instituted rules keeping vendors at least 2,000 feet away from special events such as A Taste of Minnesota - unless they pay to be part of the event.
And in 2005, a mini-hot dog war broke out when Keller paid $1,000 to help keep an annual car show afloat - in exchange for the exclusive right to work the event. Belcher is still mad about it.
"If I had a quarter for every dramatic incident that happens in the hot dog business, I'd be a rich man and I wouldn't have to sell hot dogs anymore," Keller said.
The insurance situation is unusual because the only other insurance requirements the city imposes is on cabdrivers and those with liquor licenses - plain old restaurants aren't required to have any to operate within city limits.
But change may be afoot.
After hearing complaints and noticing that hot dog vendors were "disappearing," City Council Member Dave Thune asked that the new policy be re-examined.
"Somebody was just trying to follow the letter of the law, but I think the law needs to be clarified," Thune said. "I always relish the opportunity to stand up for the little guy."
Indeed, the rules are being re-examined.
"Now we're thinking ($2 million) is a little high," said Paul St. Martin of the city's public works department.
But St. Martin said the city is trying to put rules in place before next year's convention, where vendors are expected to sell everything from T-shirts to bottled water.
"We've got to get something set up so we can control where those people are setting up in the public rights of way," he said.
The new rules are expected by the end of next week.
Jason Hoppin can be reached at jhoppin@pioneerpress.com or 651-292-1892.
Looks like the price of a hot dog just went up in downtown St.Paul! Hot dog $5, with onions an extra $1, ketchup .50 and of course mustard will be an additional .50 to pay the expense and cover the ignorance of St.Paul.
There won't be any business left in St Paul by the time the people can vote these crazy leaders out of office.
The article was specific that it was elected officials but city employee. The elected officials caught it and decided that it needs re-examining.
Thanks to who ever brought attention to my error here.
FYI - the state just jacked up the amount of insurance coverage that any one who is participating in a government program has to have to that $2 million dollar figure too.
Chuck Repke
6:25
it sounds like Chuck Repke, talking about his Butty Dave Thune.
What a away to get his name on the street, after the smoking ban.
By the way, how many people have been mugged going out to smoke?
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