WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) - Wausau is moving forward with a new ordinance on mobile vendors in the city.
A special ad-hoc committee completed their work on a draft ordinance to regulate the vendors that have started to set up shop in the city. Council president Lisa Rasmussen says there's two ways for vendors to go under the proposed ordinance. "They can apply for a fixed base license or a mobile roaming license where they're able to meander about." The license would apply to either carts or trucks equally.
Rasmussen says the city didn't want to restrict vendors to a single district, and an early idea of restricting vendors to the downtown area was dropped. "That really defeats the purpose of a mobile site. if the Gus Macker is going on, those vendors would want to be over by Wausau West, not stuck downtown."
Under the current draft, the city will issue 20 vendor permits on a first-come first-served basis at a cost of $100 for a full year permit and $75 dollars for a six month permit. That cost will cover the background checks and other inspections city staff will need to perform to properly license a vendor. Vendors will also have to stay 75 feet away from businesses that are selling similar products.
The ordinance will now proceed to both the public health and safety committee as well as economic development for review and debate. Rasmussen says a final draft may be presented to the city council within a month.