With the arrest Friday in Columbia of five St. Louis men involved in sex trafficking, the discussion of ice cream truck licensing in the city had a heavier tone during Monday night’s meeting of the Columbia City Council.

The topic of ice cream trucks had been brought up during the July 15 meeting, with Columbia City Administrator Doug Brimm noting the requirements for these trucks specifically was inadvertently removed from city code when it adopted language defining mobile vendors.

As such, the code prior to Monday night prohibited use of public rights-of-way by mobile vendors, thus disallowing operation of ice cream trucks in the city.

The council unanimously passed amendments to Chapter 5 of city code to re-establish the definition of “ice cream truck” with the inclusion of “pre-packaged” as a point of distinction which sets them apart from other mobile vendors, such as stationary food trucks located in a mobile vending park.

Discussion of the ordinance to define ice cream truck requirements came shortly after Columbia Police Chief Jason Donjon had updated the council on the Friday sex trafficking bust. That story appears on page 1A of this week’s paper. 

Columbia Mayor Bob Hill opened by saying, “Chief Donjon just talked about sex trafficking and the approach of men toward juveniles. There’s things going around on social medial about the city enforcing mobile vendors, but we don’t know who’s driving the ice cream truck and this is one of the ways that we can see who’s going around our neighborhoods and having kids approach them… We do this for enforcement and to see who’s coming into our city and selling to our kids.”

Referring to Hill’s comments, Brimm said anyone applying for a license must go through a process similar to obtaining a solicitor license, which includes a background check, fingerprinting and other requirements to “ensure that there are no untoward individuals with other intent coming into our community.”

The licensing procedure also requires registration and insurance information for the vehicle and proof of permits required by the Monroe County or St. Clair County health departments and proof of ability to be a retailer in the state.

The amended code also prohibits selling in parks  and on streets within parks.

Hours of operation are now 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Trucks may not stop for more than 10 minutes in any location and may not sell anything containing alcohol. 

The vehicles must be in good condition and have an alarm system to notify pedestrians of movement.

Vendors must also provide the city with regular proof of paying sales to the state.

Despite the announcement several weeks ago that ice cream trucks had been  disallowed within the city, several aldermen noted the presence of such vehicles – possibly three separate ice cream trucks – in Columbia this past weekend. 

With passage of the ordinance Monday, operators of ice cream trucks within Columbia will now be subject to penalty for not following city guidelines.

Also during Monday’s meeting, Ward II Alderman Lauren Nobbe presented information regarding a proposed dog park at Admiral Trost Park.

Nobbe submitted a dog park proposal last year as part of a contest through PetSafe which would have provided a $50,000 grant to be used to create a dog park in the city.

While Nobbe’s proposal did not win the grant, she presented information to the council to kickstart progress on what she sees as a community need.

Nobbe said she was inspired to reintroduce the idea of a Columbia dog park as work is beginning on the long-delayed Creekside Park project.

Citing overwhelming input for a dog park during the most recent comprehensive plan process and using information from the city’s master plan from 2012, Nobbe gave the council a general idea of her vision for the park.

Nobbe would like to see the dog park cover a four-acre area at Admiral Trost Park along Parkway Drive in an area to the west of  MAVERICK Technologies and Budnick Converting buildings.

Nobbe said it is the “ideal park” for the project, especially with the Columbia Blue Jays Football Club choosing to remain at Bolm-Schuhkraft, as the area would be a unique park with natural features away from residential areas and other distractions.

In speaking with fencing companies, Nobbe said installation of a five-foot-tall black chain link fence would cost between $170,000 and $200,000, or about $52,000 per acre including gates and other requirements.  

Nobbe also suggested the four acres be divided into three sections, two based on the size of the dog with the third section to be used as an agility course.

Once the park is established, Nobbe also had thoughts for shade structures, seating and other amenities. 

Nobbe admitted filling out her vision for the project would likely require donations from the community, but she was confident they would be there if the project became a reality.

“If we can just get the ball rolling on any phase of this, I think a lot of support will come out of the woodwork,” Nobbe said. 

After her presentation, several aldermen asked questions regarding maintenance costs such as mowing and a possible need for increased vehicle parking as the park is not pedestrian accessible.

While Nobbe said the park should be able to be completed in sections rather than all at once, Brimm stepped in to say he suggested the project be presented as the whole park area being completed at the same time.

Brimm said he suggested to Nobbe she pursue doing all four acres due to response of the defunct Mutts at Metter proposal when it was learned the community would like to have a larger dog park. 

He called the smaller footprint of the Metter Park proposal a “fatal flaw” for the plan despite its more appealing location.

View Nobbe’s complete presentation on City of Columbia IL – Government Facebook page.

At the beginning of the meeting, Hill announced Emily Voellinger as the city’s latest treasurer and director of finance.

Voellinger has 20 years experience with banks, nonprofit organizations  and auditing firms, including four years with Southwestern Illinois College and six  years with the City of Swansea.

Bollinger is replacing Linda Sharp, who had been in the position for 17 years.

Sharp’s last day was July 29, but she has remained with the city to help with the transition.

The next meeting of the Columbia City Council will be Monday, Aug. 19, beginning at 7 p.m. at Columbia City Hall.