Vendors told to compromise at youth games in city parks

Diana Sahagun

Thursday, Sept. 20, 2001 | 9:39 a.m.

Mobile food vendors will be allowed to work city parks on a short-term basis but must partner with youth sports teams if they want to remain a more permanent fixture.

In an effort to balance the merits of free enterprise while protecting the fund-raising abilities of youth sports teams, the council Wednesday adopted a new policy that allows limited competition by mobile food vendors.

Mobile food vendors are commonplace at construction sites throughout the city, but are only allowed to settle for 30 minutes. Competition at city parks first came to light in April after Tom Jerbic, brother of Las Vegas City Attorney Brad Jerbic, began parking his mobile food truck at Meadow Ridge Park during Little League games. He received the proper permit from the city's Leisure Services Department to stay longer than 30 minutes.

Brown, who coaches Little League at the park, became concerned that the competition would negatively affect the teams' revenue from concession stands, money that goes toward uniforms and other equipment costs.

Mike Aker, district administrator for Little League District 4, said without revenue from concession stands, the league would have to raise its membership prices for children.

The council debated the issue for nearly an hour before the meeting was interrupted after city marshals received a bomb threat at City Hall.

The council and city employees were evacuated for 45 minutes. After the delay, the council adopted a new policy that allows vendors to continue to stay at city parks for 30 minutes. But they will only be granted a permit to extend their stay if the youth team approves.

The hope is that if mobile food vendors are allowed to stay longer than 30 minutes, they will partner with sports teams by donating some of their gross profits to the teams, Brown said.

The vendors will also be required to locate at specific locations in the park chosen by the Leisure Services Department.

While the council members said that competition should be limited to "protect the children," Mayor Oscar Goodman said the parents and children have a choice.

"Assuming there was a sign on the concession stand saying all proceeds go back to the Little League, don't you think Little League parents would go to the Little League concessionaires, rather than the private entrepreneur?" Goodman asked. "People are smarter than that, and I don't think you're giving them enough credit."