City Council Committee -
Legislation/Environmental Committee

PLACE : City Council Chambers, City Hall, 425 N. El Dorado Street

ATTENDANCE :

Committee:
Councilmember Leslie Martin, Chair
Councilmember Steve Bestolarides, Vice Chair
Councilmember Clem Lee

Staff:
Dennis Smallie, Police Department Lieutenant
Lori Whittaker, Deputy City Attorney
Christa Bodin, Clerk Office Specialist II (Recorder for Item 2, the Recall Issue – see separate document.)
Barbara Atkinson, Police Department Secretary (Recorder for Item 1, Ice Cream Vendor Ordinance)

Others:
Rob Swain
Dorothy Matson
Reverend Eddie Foster
Beverly Foster
Satram Singh Saint
Yasmil Assfin
Crystal Kincade
Thelma Caruthers
Durn Howard
Mark Moses, City of Stockton
Janet Salvetti, City of Stockton
Kathy Whitman, City of Stockton
Lula Williams
E.L. Williams
Ken Praegitzer
Carolyn Walters
Narsow Jackson - CV Press

ISSUES TO BE DISCUSSED :

• Amendments to and/or drafting of an ordinance regulating ice cream vendors (See below.)
• Recall of Elected Officers (This was discussed before item #1. See separate document.)

COMMITTEE REPORT :

Introduction :

Chair Leslie Martin stated that there would be an Ice Cream Vendor staff presentation today, followed by public comments, and an ordinance would eventually be drafted at a later time based on the feedback of today’s meeting.

Staff Presentation on Ice Cream Vendors :

Dennis Smallie made a presentation on Ice Cream Vendor concerns, Los Angeles actions, current laws, vehicle conditions, and hours of operation. Mr. Smallie discussed SMC 6-034.6 on advertising and sound

projection limitations. Sound cannot be projected before 9 a.m. or after sunset. Mr. Smallie said that he will be reviewing a DVD from the International Association of Ice Cream Vendors that he had just received on safe ice cream vending, and he would like to make the information available to ice cream vendors and the public.

DISCUSSION/PUBLIC COMMENTS :

• Guns should not be sold on ice cream trucks.
• It is inconvenient finding a new school for one’s child if he/she is expelled because of the gun on campus.
• The hours of operation of the ice cream trucks need to be reviewed.
• The music blaring from the trucks can be irritating.

Reverend Eddie Charles Foster, the husband of Beverly Foster

• Guns should not be sold on ice cream trucks.
• It is inconvenient finding a new school for one’s child if he/she is expelled because of the gun, and there is the problem of a good kid being caught up in a bad school environment and going downhill.
• Younger children, around 5, 6, and 7 years of age, are able to buy guns, and they cannot always make wise choices.
• Sales of guns on ice cream trucks is prevalent not only in San Joaquin County , but Stanislaus County , especially in the cities of Modesto and Manteca .
• Play guns can look real, since some of them have clips, and our children can be mistaken for some gang members who carry guns.

Crystal Kincade

• It is necessary to stop the sale of the candy, lucas, which is sold on some of the ice cream trucks because it has lead in it, and it can damage the brain.
• Her granddaughter had growths in her mouth which were caused from the candy. The doctor said the growths could have turned into cancer.

Lula Williams

• She has been an ice cream truck operator since 1990.
• She does not have a problem eliminating specific items from the ice cream truck. She stopped selling lucas in the past when someone from the Health Department told her it had lead in it and was bad for the children.
• She does sell cap guns, which are orange in color with yellow and black. These are pre-packaged in a sealed container and not sold with the cap, and she does not have a problem discontinuing them.
• She does not sell candy, as jelly or fruit-filled types, which are dangerous to swallow.
• She is opposed to selling black guns and knives.
• Her ice cream trucks start at 10 a.m. and run until 8 or 8:30 p.m. , and there is no music on after 7:30 p.m.
• She can’t make a living selling only ice cream.

Ernest Williams, husband of Lulu Williams

• Novelties play a role in selling ice cream. They are common in stores near the check-out counter where last minute decisions are made.
• He does not have a problem with eliminating the guns from the trucks.
• He would hate to see an ordinance come out outlawing novelty items, as Santa Clauses, dolls, or tea sets, when the ordinance specifically states you can sell them.
• He stopped selling the lucas candy two years ago after getting a notice from the Health Department about its harmful effects.
• The Health Department inspects trucks periodically and will give out citations if the trucks are not up to standards.
• There is the need to put language in the ordinance spelling out “daylight savings” time or “sunset.” Ice cream trucks should not be cut off when the sun is still shining.

Beverly Foster

• She is on the San Joaquin County School Board and is representing her constituents.

• She distributed a binder of her research, which includes: codes, petition signatures, pictures of toy guns being sold on the ice cream trucks, incident reports, and the San Joaquin County Ordinance.

• Since her 3/22/05 presentation, she has received numerous calls from concerned citizens in San Joaquin County and Modesto about the harmful items on the ice cream trucks.
• She made an 4/26/05 presentation at Fairmont Elementary School , and was informed that the principal suspended three students who carried toy guns on campus.
• Since Stockton is an “ All America City ,” it needs to set an example for the rest of CA
• The kids need to be protected.
• A lot of ice cream trucks are violating the codes in place and are selling bad things and staying out late.
• Recently, she saw an ice cream truck around 2:10 p.m. waiting for the students by a church across from the school.
• The cap gun has been used with staples, and someone was hurt in Modesto because a staple was fired at the person.
• If people have questions on the ice truck issues, she is available for contact.

Rob Swain

• He is a Diamond Distributing owner who sells to the ice cream trucks.
• Most of the ice cream truck owners are “moms” and “dads” and first generation immigrants, who are trying to support their families.
• Many of the guns and lucas candies that are sold on the trucks are in many toy stores. If these items are outlawed from the trucks, they need to be outlawed from the stores.
• He received the same DVD today that Dennis Smallie received from the International Association of Ice Cream Vendors, and he will review it.
• The biggest problem is that many of the ice cream truck owners have an education problem due to a language barrier, and they will not understand the rules, and they need to follow the rules.
• It is difficult to figure out the codes on the website, and there is the need for some legislation that is plain and understandable which will protect the kids.
• The ice cream vendors need to be able to support their families.

Narsow Jackson, CV Press Publisher

• He will publish the African American concerns with the ice cream truck items and put the picture of the latest gun on the front page.
• There should not be any poisonous candy or novelties sold on the trucks or in the stores.
• There should be a sunshine ordinance in place to dictate that ice cream not be sold when the sun goes down.
• When ice cream truck vendors apply for their licenses, the DVD on the rules should be distributed and included in the fees.
• He will follow today’s issues with the ice cream trucks to its completion.

Thelma Caruthers

• Not only the corner stores, but the filling stations’ mini markets, and Oriental/Asian stores are selling lucas candy, which affects the brain and nervous system. Something needs to be done to stop the sell of the lucas candy.

Councilmember Steve Bestolarides

• His son showed him the gun, stink bombs, and cap which is thrown in the air that he bought from the ice cream truck two days ago, and now these items have been thrown away.
• The toy guns need to go.
• There needs to be a moral compass when dealing with children with unsupervised activities.
• The children should be provided with refreshments and not guns or novelties which are not a contributing factor to children growing up.
• He would like to move quickly to bring something to Council.
• These ice cream issues are happening in north Stockton , too.

Chair Leslie Martin

• Ice cream vendors should only sell ice cream.
• The vehicle code defines an ice cream truck, but SMC is silent on this. There is not any mention of a non-food item being a novelty item per the ordinance.

• She thinks immediate enforcement can be done with the state code.
• Trucks can be inspected for candies and guns and things that we have in the vehicle code.
• There are restrictions in the code regarding the timing around the school grounds.
• We can go into the neighborhoods represented here with a Health Code Officer to deal with the lucas candy. Al Olsen is more than willing to help us with this problem.

Lori Whittaker, Deputy City Attorney

• To some degree the vehicle code is meant to protect the safety of pedestrians in vehicular traffic.
• It does not address what can be sold.
• It has some limitations on the location on streets, speed limits, and distances which the municipal code has as well.
• In respect to the candy, it is within the jurisdiction of San Joaquin Environmental Health, and the city does not regulate the food and how it’s done.

Councilmember Clem Lee

• We can bring something quickly to Council, but not have to do it all at once.
• He would like to look at this more broadly.
• Toy guns are not what they once were, and it is a different world, and they are a problem which needs to be curbed.
• We should limit what is sold.
• He appreciates all of Ms. Foster’s work.
• In the short term, we need to address the gun issue, and he does not think items that pop, crackle or threaten and hurt others should be sold.
• He does not want to get involved in legislating as opposed to people showing individual responsibility, as parents for their kids. If the parent wants to buy their kid a toy gun, then that is the way that is going to be.

Chair Leslie Martin

• She appreciates everyone’s attendance, and all of Ms. Foster’s efforts which are commendable.
• When her son was in the fifth grade, he went to a party at the Weberstown Arcade, and he was able to purchase items, and he came home with a black gun with an orange tip.
• These guns are everywhere, and they need to be controlled. If we cannot do this in the city, we may need to go elsewhere.
• Ice cream trucks are Trojan horses that are coming into our neighborhoods with tools that are training and desensitizing them to violence and making guns as friendly as ice cream. It is an internal brainwash that needs to be addressed.
• If anyone sees the lucas candy, let Lt. Dennis Smallie know.

Action Items:

1. Chair Leslie Martin stated that Al Olsen of the San Joaquin Environmental Health wants to be aware of any issues arising from foods sold on ice cream trucks. He can address them and the candy, lucas, at the next meeting and enforce those items he is able to.
   
   
2. A simple amendment to our code can be created just for ice cream trucks. An amendment to parallel the definition seen in the vehicle code section with another sentence added which would prohibit the sale of toy guns can be added.
   
   
3. The code draft will be brought to the next meeting next month.