The fees required for door-to-door solicitation in Pea Ridge are "too cost prohibitive," according to a sales representative with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Matt Reese, sales manager for the newspaper, argued to the City Council on Tuesday, Sept. 15, that Pea Ridge's daily $20 per-person fee for door-to-door solicitation is too high, out of line with other cities in northwest Arkansas and a deterrent to selling a subscription to the newspaper to residents.
"We don't mind paying fees, but we want them to be affordable," Reese said, who pleaded with the council to either lower the city's fee or work out a new agreement with the newspaper.
Previously, former Police Chief Tim Ledbetter had waived the city's door-to-door solicitation fees for the newspaper, Reese said, but that changed when Ryan Walker became police chief. Walker was sworn in as chief in March.
Reese told aldermen that the paper could be excluded from the city's door-to-door solicitation fees under First Amendment provisions. Fort Smith and Bella Vista both treat the sale of newspapers as an exercise of freedom of the press.
Reese also said fees in other cities in Benton County that require his sales representatives to pay for permits are much more affordable. Huntsville charges $5 per day for an entire group, Reese said, and while Gravette seeks $10 for a group, the permit is good for 20 days. Pea Ridge's license is good only for five days.
But Alderman Ray Easley said the ordinance was designed to keep door-to-door solicitors from Pea Ridge and it's working as intended.
"If you don't (have solicitation fees), then you get inundated with sales people," Easley said. "I've seen it myself. You get meth heads wanting to clean your house."
City clerk Sandy Button also said she felt strongly about the ordinance, adding that Reese's request amounted to asking city officials to "pick and choose" which businesses get enforced.
Alderman Lance Sanders offered some sympathy to Reese, saying a "good deal" of revenue for the paper comes from door-to-door sales.
"I understand what (permit fees) are for," said Sanders, who once worked as a door-to-door salesman for a newspaper. "But (selling newspaper subscriptions) was my main source of income years ago. People don't just go online or call and order a subscription. A lot of times its from a door-to-door solicitor or meeting (a sales representative) outside of a store."
Sanders added he was open to looking at "whatever options" were available to remedy the situation.
No action was taken Tuesday on the solicitation ordinance. Mayor Jackie Crabtree said he was open to change, but a more in-depth discussion of the matter was needed.
Meanwhile, a separate ordinance regarding beekeeping was given to aldermen for further review.
If passed, the ordinance would allow beekeeping within the city limits subject to certain restrictions such as a limit on the number of hives per acre, buffer zones, mandatory registration with the Arkansas Plant Board, a ban on Africanized bees and other stipulations.
City Attorney Howard Slinkard said he drew on similar ordinances from Bella Vista and Bentonville, as well as input from "interested parties," to create his draft.
Because sections of the ordinance have yet to be addressed, like which city department will handle enforcement and which office will log complaints, aldermen hope to vote on a more finalized version at next month's meeting.
In other business, the council:
• Rezoned 77 acres of the Elkhorn Subdivision from A-1 to R-1A.
• Approved applying for a $50,000 general improvement fund grant from the Arkansas Department of Rural Services to help cover the cost of a mini pumper truck for the Fire Department.
• Approved a property tax levy of 5 mills for 2016.
• Allocated $14,000 for a work order with McClelland Consulting Engineers Inc. to do a preliminary engineering report on lowering ammonia levels at the city's Waste Water Treatment Plant.
General News on 09/23/2015