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Trustees' ban on transient vendors has chilling effect on summer treats. Customer, 9, writes protest letter
By Marilyn Miller
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008
COPLEY TWP.: Ice cream trucks have been scooped off township streets, and some residents aren't happy with the freeze on their frosty treats.
Township trustees passed a resolution banning transient vendors, but officials say they didn't plan on tossing those trucks into a stay-out-of-the neighborhood category.
''Banning ice cream trucks in Copley Township was not the intended target,'' Copley Police Chief Michael Mier said. ''Legislation was passed to keep transient vendors off the streets, and the ice cream truck vendors fell into the definition of transient vendors.''
The new resolution was approved June 23. It prohibits transient vendors — excluding those representing religious, charitable or school groups — from selling or soliciting orders in Copley.
A transient vendor is defined as ''any person who opens a temporary place of business for the sale of goods or who, on the streets or while traveling about the township, sells or offers for sale goods.''
Township Administrator
Peggy Spraggins said permits now in effect aren't being revoked.
''The ice cream vendors have 90-day permits, which expire at the end of the month,'' Spraggins said. ''The permits just won't be renewed.''
That doesn't sit well on the stomach of Nicole Scout Basinski, the daughter of township residents David and Alice Basinski. She sent a letter to the trustees asking them to reconsider the ban.
''Dear Copley Board of Trustees,'' she wrote. ''I am 9 years old and I just heard ice cream trucks were outlawed and I like getting ice cream from the ice cream man.''
Nicole told the trustees the ice cream man wasn't a criminal or someone who was harassing people.
''I think you should let us have the ice cream truck,'' she said.
But Township Trustee Dale Panovich said that although the ice cream trucks weren't targeted by the ban, there was enough cause to include them.
''It's still a safety issue,'' Panovich said. ''It had nothing to do with loud music, but could be a safety hazard for children dashing toward the trucks when they hear the ice cream truck coming down the street.''
While ice cream trucks are a summer tradition, times have changed, Panovich said.
''There is no screening of these individuals, like day-care centers, where thorough background checks are done,'' she said. ''We have discovered undesirables with criminal backgrounds driving some of the ice cream trucks.''
One of Copley's ice cream vendors, Jingle Brothers, said it had never had a problem in the township and wasn't aware of the new law.
''This legislation is news to us,'' said Tracy Tanner, the general manager of Jingle Brothers, which has served Copley since 2005. ''We are not a threat to the community, but sometimes we do get a black eye because of peddlers in neighborhoods and their conniving ways. . . . Sometimes we get clumped together with them and get discredited.''
The ban was initiated after residents complained about aggressive and misleading tactics used by door-to-door sales people.
''People, especially our elderly residents, felt overpressured by the salespeople,'' Mier said. ''The problems seem to be primarily in the summertime. Many of the vendors, who are mostly juveniles, are from outside the state who canvass the neighborhoods, are loosely supervised, and nine out of 10 times don't bother to get a permit to sell.''
A permit is needed to solicit door to door in Copley, and there is a 48-hour waiting period, which allows police to do a quick background check.
Tanner said Jingle Brothers does background checks on its drivers and doesn't hire anyone with a criminal background.
''We have had only one incident where the driver we subcontracted didn't want to follow the hours of regulation,'' he said. ''The township doesn't allow ice cream trucks on Sundays nor during the dinner hours from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and we let him go.''
Tanner planned to contact Copley trustees about the ban and suggested that he might try to start a petition drive to overturn the resolution.
''We all grew up with ice cream trucks,'' he said. ''It's part of our childhood, and for some it's the only reward kids get anymore. They can't afford to go to the mall. To me, it's the Grinch who stole Christmas.''
Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com.
COPLEY TWP.: Ice cream trucks have been scooped off township streets, and some residents aren't happy with the freeze on their frosty treats.
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