As a Montville town councilor, I believe it is my responsibility to vote in favor to bring a contested issue to a public hearing so anyone interested in the subject can voice their opinion. That is why I voted yes to the hearing for the proposed Vendor Ordinance changes, even though I adamantly disagree with those changes.

Proposed at the last minute, the distance between a street vendor and established building business will be dropped to 500 feet. This short distance can adversely impact many of our taxpaying businesses.

Take the example of the Memorial Day parade. If this ordinance change is passed, vendors can get applications to be parked throughout the parade route. Parade attendees could go to these vendors instead of having an ice cream at Ed's Kitchen, for example. That business loses money but the ice cream vendor who doesn't pay taxes makes money. This doesn't make sense.

I stand behind our town's brick and mortar businesses and their right to protect all they worked for.