LITTLE ROCK — Ten-year-old Jenna Speele understands the summer lure of ice-cream trucks. A mad dash toward the carnival-like melody blaring down the street holds the promise of a tasty, cool treat.
During a visit this spring to her grandmother’s house in Little Rock, Jenna bought a sour-apple snow cone, her favorite, from a Frosty Treats ice-cream truck and got to wondering why she never saw such a truck in her town, Sherwood.
“I had called Frosty Treats, and they said they were not allowed in Sherwood,” Jenna said.
So Jenna called Sherwood Mayor Virginia Hillman who explained that an ordinance banning the trucks has been in effect for more than 40 years. But Hillman promised that she would raise the is-sue at the next City Council meeting.
At April’s council meeting, Hillman suggested lifting the ban, but some aldermen gave the idea the cold shoulder.
“Well, there’s been a lot of controversy with it, and several aldermen have not been for it. It’s the safety issue,” Hillman said of the ordinance, which will get a third and final reading at Monday’s 7 p.m. meeting.
“I don’t anticipate it passing,” Hillman said.
Parents and aldermen voiced concerns at earlier meetings that vehicles would hit children chasing after the ice-cream trucks. Under the proposal, the trucks would be required to have various safety features and not sell at night.
When the ordinance came up at the May 24 meeting, it failed on a 5-2 vote. Alderman Marina Brooks was absent.
“We had several of our citizens that said they had children and grandchildren - that persuaded me that it would be a safety issue,” said Alderman Steve Fender, who voted against lifting the ban.
Fender said that of Sherwood’s roughly 30,000 residents, only Jenna has called him about the ban, and she called “six to seven times in one day.”
“I had never met her ... but she is the one who has basically generated this being brought up,” Fender said.
Jenna attended the two previous meetings and plans to be at Monday’s. She said she understands the opposition. “It would be a concern because you have the kids ages second grade and down ... you just don’t know nowadays what can occur,” she said.
Still, too many of her friends are missing out because of an old ordinance, she said.
“It’s summer, you’re out of school, you want ice cream,” Jenna said. “[I want] the ice cream truck out here.”
Alderman Becki Vassar, who has been on the council 32 years, voted for the ordinance and said that if a reputable, licensed vendor is chosen, safety shouldn’t be an issue.
“I’ve heard from a couple of people over the years who expressed a desire or made mention that we should have one ... if we’re dealing with a company that provides a safe environment ... I don’t have a problem with it,” Vassar said. “The ice-cream truck is fun.”
Vassar said she is not sure how she will vote Monday night. During the past few City Council meetings, the Frosty Treats company, which serves about 27 cities in Arkansas, has had a consultant on hand to answer questions.
Frosty Treats branch manager Jerry Watkins, who has 20 trucks operating throughout Arkansas, said the company requested a policy change in 2003. The council, under former Mayor Bill Harmon, denied the request.
Watkins said Little Rock reversed a similar ordinance in June 2004 once the company presented its case. According to a July 30, 1987, Arkansas Democrat article, ice cream vendors were banned from Little Rock to protect children from getting hit by vehicles and because ice cream truck workers were performing “obscene acts” in the trucks.
In 1990, sales were once again allowed, but they were outlawed again in 1995, Little Rock Treasury Manager Scott Massanelli said.
Complaints about ice cream truck vendors seem to be rare. Pulaski County sheriff’s office Lt. Carl Minden said, “If we’ve ever gotten a complaint on them, it’s few and far between.”
Watkins, who has been in the ice-cream vendor business 37 years, said, “Our safety record is excellent.”
Employees undergo background checks and have extensive training.
“We’ve never had an injury in Little Rock since we’ve been here, and that’s a lot of ice cream served,” Watkins said.
In North Little Rock, ice cream trucks are restricted “on how loud their music can be played,” said Jerry Reagan, the city’s revenue officer. They can operate only between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m.
The proposed Sherwood ordinance would limit sales to no later than 30 minutes after sunset. Sales could start at 11 a.m. Monday through Saturday and at noon on Sundays. Trucks would serve only prepackaged frozen treats and bottled soft drinks.
Trucks would also be required to have flashing lights, mirrors, signs indicating “Children Crossing” and mechanically operated swing-out arms to alert other drivers. The vehicles would be restricted to public streets that have speed limits of 30 mph or slower and would be banned from selling treats within 500 feet of schools or churches while classes or services are being held, unless invited by the establishment.
Jenna’s efforts to get the city’s ban lifted have earned her the gratitude of the Frosty Treats folks. Last month, the company gave her two boxes of sour-apple and Jolly Rancher snow cones. That was 24 in total. They’re already gone.
“What I enjoy most is it’s fun and something you can look forward to every day,” Jenna said of the ice-cream truck.
If the ordinance fails, she said, “I’ll probably go to the [snow-cone] trailers or go sit on the sides of Little Rock streets and wait.”
Front Section, Pages 1 on 06/26/2010