CAMDEN — By BRADLY GILL
Staff writer
The Camden City Council will hold its monthly meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14, in the council chambers of the Camden Municipal building.
However, at 6:30 p.m. before the regular meeting, the council will hold a 30-minute discussion about food safety regarding non-profit entities.
The discussion will include best practices, a review about what the law says, and a question-and-answer session with local Health Inspector Veronica Collier and Camden Code Enforcement Officer Travis Daniel.
Discussion topics will include food-safety training for food handlers, food-safety myths and food-borne-disease prevention.
This event is free and open to the public. Call 833-0723 for more information.
In old business during the regular portion of the meeting, the council will hear about:
• Resolution No. 20-19, a resolution authorizing the Mayor and the water and sewer commission to execute a Power Purchase Agreement with Scenic Hill Solar, LLC; and for other purposes.
The City of Camden and Ouachita County have been negotiating with Scenic Hill Solar about a possible solar array with the ability to purchase power for a period of 30 years. The current contract would allow purchase of the array after six years. Recently, Entergy has also contacted the city and county, but could not provide clear numbers according to Ouachita County Judge Robert McAdoo.
New business will include:
• Ordinance No. 10-19, an ordinance amending the Camden Code in order to define “Transient Vendor.”
At a specially-called meeting earlier this month, Travis Daniel showed the alderman new language in an ordinance which clearly defines “transient vendor.”
Daniel said due to several food truck opening within the city, he was having problems enforcing city code because it was ambiguous as to what constituted a permanent business.
Under the current ordinance, transient businesses are charged a $100 per month business fee, while permanent businesses pay $50 a year.
Seasonal offerings, such as snow cone vendors or ice cream are exempt from the transient code, as well as farmer’s markets.
At a meeting of the Ouachita County Ministerial Alliance Mayor Julian Lott said that transient vendors pay a $100 a month, whereas permanent businesses in the city pay around $100-150 a year. Lott stated that because some churches sell food plates for fundraisers or other causes, there is a possibility that those churches could be subjected to a transient-vendor fee. Lott encouraged the ministers to be involved and to voice any of the questions or concerns that they may have regarding the resolution before it becomes an ordinance.
• Resolution No. 22-19, a resolution setting a date for a Public Hearing on a petition to abandon a Gallop Street located in the W. L. Ellis Subdivision.