Kenyon council authorizes one-year limited-use agreement for Taco Express after owners appeal

Owners of Taco Express addressed the Kenyon City Council on April 8 after learning the city would not renew their prior contract. Bonnie and Brenda, who said they have operated food service at the MUN site for 18 years and paid an agreed electricity fee, said they were surprised by a newspaper report and by not being notified in advance about council consideration of their contract.

"I was looking at the Canyon Leader and I read through it and I thought, 'Oh my gosh, this is terrible,'" Bonnie said, describing how she and family members discovered the council discussion in the paper. Brenda said the family has paid metered electric charges and felt the reporting and lack of direct notice caused distress.

Council members and staff acknowledged communication failures and discussed the fairness of treating a mobile food operator differently from brick-and-mortar restaurants. To reduce immediate hardship for the owners, the mayor and city administrator proposed authorizing a one-year limited-use agreement for 2025 while the owners search for a permanent location for 2026.

Council moved to authorize the city administrator to negotiate and execute a limited-use agreement for the 2025 season; the motion was seconded and passed. Council asked that the operator provide a calendar of the dates they will use the site and that staff and council assist the owners in identifying alternate locations for future seasons.

Next steps: the city administrator will draft the limited-use agreement for 2025 and communicate terms and a site calendar to the owners; council said it would assist in identifying alternate locations for 2026.