NILES — Summers in Michigan often contain the most outdoor events out of the four seasons due to ideal weather. Some events host vendors and their wares, from artists to food truck chefs.

As summer nears its peak, the question of whether vendors should pay fees for setting up in city limits appeared Monday at the Niles Fire Station Complex during an ordinance committee meeting.

“We are experiencing a pretty significant number of groups and people that think that charging a fee to have a vendor at an event is inappropriate,” said Ric Huff, city administrator.

Some vendors refuse to pay, Huff said. Others claim they will not make a profit.

No action was taken, but city officials, city staff and a food truck employee all discussed the merits of fees for future consideration.

Currently, vendors must fill out an application each time they want to sell in Niles. Event, applicant, vehicle and merchandise information is needed.

So is money for a vendor fee. For food vendors, it is $50, or $500 for a year. For others, it is $20. The application and fee are sent to the clerk’s office. So are complaints, Casperson said, and working with vendors to solve them cuts into her work time.

“An alternative fee isn’t something unique,” Huff said. “The vast majority of communities charge some type of fee to operate within their borders, but it seems that the culture of our community is that everything should be free.”

However, food truck employee Steve Gargis said other nearby communities are waiving fees.

He noted that Bridgman only charges vendors if they are part of a larger event, while Stevensville does not charge a fee at all.

That, he said, makes it tempting for the food truck he works for — Wood, Stock and Grill — to locate more often in those communities, despite there being a market for food vendors in Niles.

Restrictions to where vendors can set up make setup in Niles difficult, too, he said. While waiting in line at the Niles Secretary of State on a recent Monday, Gargis noticed from the parking lot outside the office how few restaurants were open.

“I joked with my boss about it,” Gargis said. “If we can get that parking lot that day, it would pay for our vendor’s fee for the year in one day just because it’s a captive audience.”

Mayor Nick Shelton reminded Gargis that he made the recommendations to the council in 2017 that conflicted with Monday evening’s comments. His recommendation to create a fee structure were approved in a vending ordinance.

“I educated myself more in that time,” Gargis said.

Both Huff and committee chair Dan VandenHeede brought about the importance of remaining consistent in ordinance follow-through, regardless of whether the fee structure changed or not. Some events were approved to waive vending fees while others were not, VandenHeede said.

Both also approved of requiring event organizers that host vendors to collect vendor fees, up to a capped amount, and then send the fees and an application to Casperson’s office.

“There are administrative costs. There’s enforcement costs, but there’s also the cost of doing business,” VandenHeede said. “It’s like the way of taxes. This is their tax, if you will.”

The chairman said that the fee could serve as an alternative to the property tax that brick and mortar businesses pay.

For now, the city’s fee structure will remain in place as it is, and a decision to amend the vending ordinance and change its fee structure will occur at a later date.