Food truck ordinance to return to council

By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

Three months after it last was discussed, Marion City Council reviewed a draft food truck ordinance Monday and sent it back to its author for changes.

Mayor Mike Powers passed out copies for review and said that when author Byron Lange finalizes it, the proposal would be reviewed again by council. He hopes to have it on the agenda for the next council meeting in two weeks.

The draft removes a stipulation that vendors could not sell within 150 feet of an existing restaurant without written permission of the restaurant owner.

That is replaced by a requirement that a vendor may not obstruct an entrance or parking of an existing restaurant without permission.

Vendors who have permanent locations within the county would have no limitation on days of operation. Vendors from outside the county would be limited to no more than two days a week, with only one of those days being a Friday or Saturday. They also could operate only 90 days a year.

Permits would cost $10 a day or $100 for six months.

Council members also heard from John Deardoff of the League of Kansas Municipalities about searching for a permanent city administrator.

The League operates an administrator search.

“We would provide the council with a couple of surveys,” Deardoff said.

The League would determine what experience the community needs in a city administrator and what kind of person the city was looking for.

Deardoff said job listings go out nationally and potential applicants will have read about the Aug. 11, 2023, raid on the Marion County Record.

“I think you can overcome that,” Deardoff said.

Council member Zach Collett asked whether Deardoff wanted to have a special committee to help choose job finalists, but Deardoff said council members typically do that in smaller communities.

He recommended the city require that the administrator live in the county.

“We do have a guarantee that if the candidate leaves within a year, we will redo it,” Deardoff said.

The search service would cost $7,738.77. The city would also have to pay for $1,000 to $1,400 in advertising and direct expenses estimated at another $1,000 for travel costs.

Deardoff estimated that it would take 14 to 16 weeks to hire a new administrator.

“Haste makes waste, and I really think Marion has seen that in the last couple of years,” Powers said.