The City of Port Moody plans to allow just two food-cart vendors to set up in Rocky Point Park this summer, down from the four allowed last year when the program was introduced.
Photograph by: NOW , file photo
When the bands strike up a note at Rocky Point Park this summer, food carts will be there too - albeit in a slightly modified format.
Port Moody city council approved a recommendation Tuesday to have staff draft a plan to bring food carts back to the popular park for the Summer Sunday Concert Series.
However, council also approved a few changes to the plan from last year that include dropping the number of vendors from four to two.
Council also wants a formula devised that would see the vendors contribute financially to the concert series, and take part in a waste-diversion program.
The city will also be opening up the park to food carts on Saturdays for larger events like centennial celebrations.
Coun. Diana Dilworth suggested the drop in the number of food carts for 2013 is a reaction to concerns expressed by existing vendors.
Though a staff report noted both the food carts and existing vendors were satisfied with the outcome of the pilot project, councillors did hear concerns from established vendors about a possible loss of business.
Dilworth called the changes a compromise between the original food cart idea and concerns of existing businesses.
"I think it's fair to say if we have 1,000 or 1,200 people in the park every day, which we often do on the Summer Sunday Concert Series, the existing food providers can't possibly provide service to all of them," she told The NOW.
Mayor Mike Clay, who brought forward the suggestion to lower the number of carts by half, argued four vendors made it too crowded and congested in the park.
The pilot project, originally conceived of by the city's economic development committee and approved by council last spring, had food-cart vendors in the park on Sundays through Aug. 26, the length of the concert series.
As for how the two food carts would be chosen, Dilworth said city staff would likely come up with a plan similar to the request-for-proposal scheme used last year.
Meanwhile, when bands come to play at the park, they'll be doing so on a stage with a new name. The city has approved a 10-year sponsorship deal with Pacific Coast Terminals, which will see the company pay $3,500 annually in exchange for naming the stage the PCT Performance Stage. In a letter to the city, PCT said it envisions the money going toward, for example, youth bands to cover the cost of renting an audio system or community music groups to help pay for renting the stage. The company also contributes $5,000 to the concert series, which it said would not change.
