Sundance axes rally fees

At a special meeting last week, the Sundance City Council decided it was time to do away with the peddler permit fees that have historically been charged to any vendor wishing to sell their wares during Rally Wednesday.

The issue was first raised at the July council meeting, when Clerk Treasurer Kathy Lenz remarked that $110 for the day itself and an additional $110 for the surrounding days has the potential to total more than the profit a small vendor, such as a jewelry crafter or water bottle wagon, could hope to make. She asked the council to consider scrapping the fee, which was originally imposed many years ago with the large tents on the edge of town in mind.

The intention of the peddler permit, said Lenz, is to protect residents from less-than-honest door-to-door salesmen. She suggested that the city should no longer apply it to Rally, switching over instead to the $10 special event permit used for events such as the Sundance Beer Festival and the Sundance Winter Festival.

Partly due to the absence of the mayor and one council member and partly to give the full council time to ponder the question, it was tabled until a future meeting.

At Tuesday’s special meeting, Lenz reiterated that she was not suggesting the entire “very lengthy” peddler permit be scrapped or changed, but told the council she considers $220 too high a cost “just for them to come in for the day” and suggested the cost had run off some of the people who used to come to rally as vendors.

“I actually believe we will bring in more revenue,” she said.

“I never wanted that fee,” responded Mayor Paul Brooks, stating that it was put in place a long time ago.

It was also suggested that the $100 extra for rally day malt beverage permits for local businesses who want to sell outside the limits of their own property be scrapped. Lenz explained that rally is an important part of the annual business cycle for Sundance’s bars and restaurants.

“This is their time to make some money,” she said.

The mayor agreed with both suggestions, commenting that, “It seems to be like almost double taxation.”

The council voted to scrap both fees for Rally Wednesday, removing both the $220 total charge for vendors and the additional $100 for bars to serve drinks outside their property lines.