KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.
The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas lifted its moratorium after 60 days for food vendors operating in the 18th Street and Central Avenue area
The moratorium, which called for vendors to stop operating in the restricted area for a minimum of 60 days, was put in place over improper grease disposal, unauthorized road closures and fire hazards.
“Obviously, we found grease in there, and we knew that before, but also found a lot of litter,” said Jeff Miles, the Kansas City, Kansas Environmental Services Director, a division of the Unified Government’s Public Works department.
Miles says the moratorium and lifting it is a process that doesn’t go before the commission for approval.
He said the approval came from the County Administrator’s office.
On Wednesday, the Environmental Services department held an educational session for vendors to learn about best practices as they get back to business.
“We feel education is our biggest tool as public servants, and to communicate not only with the public, but with business owners when we have challenges, let them understand the ‘why,’” Miles said.
Francisco Valencia attended Wednesday’s event.
“We started doing that last year, but now with this education they give us, we’re going to be more focused on it, we’re going to keep doing it,” Valencia said. “We do this for a living, but we do this because we like it.”
KSHB 41’s Rachel Henderson spoke with Valencia in January about the struggles his business, Paco’s Tacos, faced while the moratorium was in place.
“It’s been a long two months,” Valencia said.
Last year, he quickly learned the recipe for group penalty.
“One apple gets the rest of the apples bad,” Valencia said.
He said he was surprised to see the moratorium lifted so soon, but it’s a relief to be able to pay his employees for full-time versus part-time shifts now.
“The best part is to have all these people who work with us be available to support their families,” Valencia said.
He and his crew wasted no time when they learned the news Friday about being able to operate again.
They normally park the Paco’s Tacos truck on the corner of 18th Street and Central Avenue, a busy area in town.
“Some people want to be here on this corner because it’s so popular,” Valencia said as an emergency vehicle with sirens passed. “You see this every night.”
Miles says the moratorium wasn’t punishment or beneficial to the city’s economy. However, he said it was necessary to clear out the underground pipes, which had accumulated unhealthy amounts of grease.
He said the 60-day period was needed because of the problems the cold weather brought and the size of the trucks they used to clear the pipes.
“I’m kind of excited because I’m going to drive up there later this afternoon and see if they’re back up there and probably buy me a couple of tacos to be honest with you,” Miles said. “So we’re excited to see them be successful.”
Miles said it’s accountability he doesn’t want to have to enforce.
“I hope that’s not even a topic, to be honest with you,” Miles said. “If we see [violations] again, not only we could potentially put a moratorium for that area, but in extreme cases or frequency, we could close it off for much longer if need be.”
Miles did confirm the Unified Government will inspect the area more frequently, likely weekly instead of monthly.
Still, there’s a value system he wants to uphold.
“Right now, it’s a system of trust,” Miles said. “Very similar to what we have with residents at restaurants, as well as the food trucks.”
Valencia said his personal inspections will be more frequent than the UG’s.
He’s continuing his daily duty of making sure the other vendors around him follow the rules.
“That’s not going to happen again,” Valencia said. “Not in my view, not in front of me.”
Even though the moratorium has been lifted, he’s concerned some vendors — ones who didn’t attend Wednesday’s session — aren’t interested in keeping the area clean and following the rules.
“That’s sad,” Valencia said. “Because we all have to stick together. If we stick together, we’re stronger.”
He’s encouraging customers and other vendors to not dump grease, to not play loud music, to not park in front of drains, avoid doing donuts with the vehicles around the area and ensure they have a permit so the trucks can continue operating in the area.
Valencia said his business will now be operating its truck six days a week from Tuesday to Saturday from 4 p.m. until 11 p.m. on weekdays and until 12 a.m. on weekends.
“They call us every night, ‘Hey where you at, when are you guys going to come out,’” Valencia said. “We create relationships with the customers around here. They are regulars. We know them by name.”
There’s an overarching value Valencia wants his fellow vendors to enact going forward.
“Respect,” Valencia said. “They need to respect each other.”
