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Resident urges council to deny peddlers licenses for contractors who solicited after hailstorm
Summary
Resident Christina Bergeson told the City Council she documented repeated door-to-door solicitations by out-of-area roofing companies after an April 13 hailstorm and urged the council to deny peddlers licenses for firms that solicited without permits; staff described the city’s vetting (background checks, insurance) and the council approved a package of new licenses with one No vote.
Christina Bergeson, a resident of Saint Peter who said she lives at 626 Parker Row, told the City Council she has compiled a list of roofing companies that knocked on doors and solicited business after the April 13 hailstorm, and she asked the council to deny peddlers licenses to companies that solicited in violation of city ordinances.
"I am urging the Saint Peter City Council to deny any peddlers applications from businesses who have already operated in violation of the city ordinances regarding peddlers and transient merchants," Bergeson said, and told the council she will provide a detailed list to the Saint Peter Police Department.
City staff responded that the municipal peddlers process requires an application, a criminal-background check of the individual peddler, and proof of insurance. The City Administrator said that once an applicant submits complete paperwork the checks typically are completed within 24 business hours and that the ordinance requires council approval rather than administrative sign-off.
Staff also explained the limits of the peddlers ordinance: leaving a door hanger or other unattended advertising is not the same as knocking on doors and soliciting in person, and the ordinance is not an exact fit for every post-storm canvassing situation. Council members debated the trade-off between protecting homeowners from aggressive or unscrupulous solicitors and the time-sensitive needs of residents working with insurance companies to get repairs underway.
After discussion the council voted to approve the resolution on new licenses as presented (packet page 42). The roll call recorded one No vote from Council member Weisenfeld; the resolution passed.
The council and staff said they plan follow-up work: staff will compare recent building permits with peddlers permits to better identify unlicensed solicitors and return to council with options for faster administrative approvals or other changes tailored to post-storm situations.
