Harrisonville City staff presented an ordinance to allow the city to set fees and require business licenses for mobile and temporary vendors; public commenters said the change could discourage longtime fair and market vendors and threaten local fundraisers.

At a board meeting, Jeremy (city staff) told aldermen the proposal is intended to keep the city in compliance with state law and “create a level playing field for all businesses” by allowing the board to set a fee for mobile or temporary vendors. The ordinance (council bill 20) was introduced for future reading and will return to the board on June 2.

Why it matters: Several community organizations rely on short-term vendor events as primary fundraising sources. Public comment at the meeting emphasized that adding licensing requirements—even if fees are modest—can increase paperwork and perceived regulatory burden and lead some hobby or occasional vendors to stop participating.

Marcy Baumel, reading a statement from Elizabeth Korn on behalf of Has Friends (a local nonprofit that supports the Harrisonville Bridal Shelter), said the Log Cabin Festival has operated under a longstanding vendor exception and “the removal of this exception will have an adverse effect on the festival.” She added that the issue goes beyond the Log Cabin Festival and could affect Millwalk Mall and Elk’s Lodge events that bring hundreds of visitors and revenue to downtown Harrisonville.

Another resident who spoke during public participation said the problem is not only the license fee but “the perceived hoops”—annual renewals, paperwork and penalties—that can deter vendors who only make a few hundred dollars at an event. North Sea Bonnell, who identified herself as representing Has Friends, told the board that one Millwalk Mall event recently drew an estimated 400–450 attendees and said the organization depends on those events for donations and partner relationships.

City staff and aldermen did not vote on the ordinance at the meeting; the measure will come back for a formal reading and vote at the June 2 board meeting. Jeremy said the ordinance is meant to align the city with state law and to treat similar vendors consistently across Harrisonville.

Aldermen did not propose specific fee levels at the meeting. No formal direction to staff to change the draft ordinance was recorded; the item remains scheduled for further consideration on June 2.