Irons Gets Tough With The-Ice-Cream-Man

That article absolutely AMAZED me... what a man ... NOT!

Ice cream in the park, indeed. Why,it's un-American, I say!

Kudos to the mayor! We can't have scofflaws setting a bad example for youth!

And furthermore, I'm glad the mayor didn't resort to some sissy, limp-wristed solution like, say, licensing the ice cream man to sell in public parks.

Oh, heck no.

DF

"mayor" Bobby Irons looks the other way on all kinds of misdeeds, sweeps very bad things under the rug, runs cover for the crooks and cronies around here, looks out for some very selfish interests, and then does this? He is without doubt the worst excuse for a leader I have ever seen. Bar none.

quote:

Originally posted by DeepFat:
Ice cream in the park, indeed. Why,it's un-American, I say!

Kudos to the mayor! We can't have scofflaws setting a bad example for youth!

And furthermore, I'm glad the mayor didn't resort to some sissy, limp-wristed solution like, say, licensing the ice cream man to sell in public parks.

Oh, heck no.

DF

LOL... good reply!!!

THE CITY FATHERS
can't seemed to figure out how to allow vendors in the parks, which would make them more appealing...but they can fiqure out how to lose 650,000 dollars with a local scam real estate investor...

Why can't the fools negotiate a plan to work around a stupid rule like this anyway? Like another license or a specified time allowance or something. It's not like they are not collecting taxes on his sales. I guess he will have to stop at the entrance to the park and the kids will have to go close to the traffic now. Looks like we'll have another business go out now, pick on the ice cream man!

Dadgummit, if I were there, I'd organize a March on City Hall.

Pitchforks and torches and everything.

I'm serious.

DF

quote:

Originally posted by unclegus:
Why can't the fools negotiate a plan to work around a stupid rule like this anyway? Like another license or a specified time allowance or something. It's not like they are not collecting taxes on his sales. I guess he will have to stop at the entrance to the park and the kids will have to go close to the traffic now. Looks like we'll have another business go out now, pick on the ice cream man!

You and I both know that they CAN work something out, IF they want to... I guess the vendor did something bad to Iron's Cheerios!!!

The Losers here??? The KIDS who love the park!!!

SHAME ON THE CITY OF FLORENCE!!! Don't they realize that kids from ALL towns visit there and they are losing money by allowing this Peeing match to keep on going?

quote:

Originally posted by DeepFat:
Dadgummit, if I were there, I'd organize a March on City Hall.

Pitchforks and torches and everything.

I'm serious.

DF

LOL, looks like THAT reply needed to be on the "OTHER" post!

the "other" post?

DF

Bobby Irons should just go home and go to bed and put us out of his misery. The sooner the better.

It's been a while since I've lived in Florence. Which park is Diebert Park again?

If it's been a while since youv'e been to florence, it is most likely you have not seen Diebert park. It is old farmland fronting Cox creek pkwy. and heratige drive, adjacent to the hospital on Cloyd blvd.

I stand corrected, that is Hermitage drive.

It's a truly sad state when kids can't have icecream in the park. Mr. Harrison, AKA "the icecream man" is a good man, from what I know. He's a long time business owner in the city of florence. This is the thanks he gets. I work in the place he buys his icecream[which will remain nameless]. He's not even making much money as it is. He does it for the kids and to have something to do in retirement. I guess the poor man will just have to either lose money or retire. The city should be ashamed.

I remember now, We love to go walking on the trails. I take my nieces and nephews and kids there when we visit. How ridiculous not to let the Ice Cream Man sell there anymore!

Hello, has nobody ever been to Central Park in NYC?? They have vendors everywhere and they make the park such a fun place to hang out! Do you think this is more of the "establishment" of Florence hanging onto "the way we have always done things"?

OK, I’m confused. The last time that I checked, Wilson Park in Downtown Florence was a city park. The official policy is no vendors are allowed in the park.

During their summer concert series, they are promoting lunch in the park with food vendors on site. The advertisement includes an ice cream vendor.

So what’s the difference? Does Mr. Harrison not offer the preferred flavor or “Greed and Power” for the city leaders?

Yeah, there is more to this than meets the eye. As always. Anytime Irons says it is "good for the city" or in this case "good for the kids" then you can bet your bottom dollar that it is good for some self-interest somewhere else he is not telling us.What he does is actually harmful to the city or in this case, the kids. Can you imagine what they must think about the City of Florence? It is beyond belief. He ludicrously says he did it for "safety" reasons. Riding around on the streets is more dangerous than sitting still in a park. This is yet another example of the Mis-Leadership of the "mayor". It is an absurdity, like a lot of other things are too. I smell a rat because there is a rat in the wood-pile.

I smell a rat on this forum too...

Oh come on Dixie, what about THE ISSUE. What about picking on The-Ice-Cream-Man? Here's what you have been asking for. A specific issue. It is important because it is bad enough for the man and the kids, and it is also emblematic of a larger problem with Florence leadership. So, what about the issue itself? What do you think? What does it say to you?

I don't live in Alabama, but on the very few occasions I have carried my daughter to visit one of the parks, the Ice Cream Man was the highlight of the visit. I hate that the city of Florence is doing this...He is not hurting a thing,

Ok people-lay off Irons. I hear the ice cream man has a high powered lawyer and a couple of big spenders backing him. We should be proud to have a mayor who will stand up to the good old boy network in town. You let in the ice cream and the next thing you know hot dogs and coton candy will show up. We must put an end to this somewhere. Of course on the same day Florece was proud to announce it was now legal to sell drft beer. Go get them Irons-we are with you all the way.

I am putting my money on Irons. When the heat gets turned up the ice cream man will melt away. I wonder how much ice cream you have to sell to raise $650,000 in sales tax. Go away ice cream man, you are too small to play with the "big boys"
And do not forget good humor man if I see you drive down my street I will call 911 -maybe Irons will give me some of that free city money for being part of the "team"

I can see the mayor's point. I don't live in Florence, so I have no dog in this race. I can see how letting the ice cream man sell in the parks could open the door up to t-shirt vendors, art vendors, hot dog vendors, and all sorts of folks selling their wares at the parks. Before you know it, it would look like the parking lot of a Grateful Dead show.

Instead of stomping out industry (as is the norm for Florence) perhaps they should instead regulate it. How about having some conditions to be met (sanitation, hours of operation, defined territory, and general safety type things) and a permit be issued to allowed vendors in the park?

The 'mayor' has no point. He is pointless. The-Ice-Cream-Man has been doing this for years, no problem. All of a sudden it's a crisis. It is just yet another example of mis-leadership. So what's new?

As for the Ice Cream Man -- he should be treated no different than any other vendor or business man in this area. If that means he can't operate in the park - call me Scrooge -- he can't operate in the park. You are just looking for more reasons to continue this Praise Scott Parade and I really don't care. The Ice Cream Man is not a viable "platform" for me to discuss -- it has nothing to do with Scott -- now if you can give me the answers to my questions...I'll be glad to join in the discussion.

Well I guess this is another one of the RETIREMENT perks of Florence...Forget the kids, they have to cater to the old fogeys!

Okay Dixie, you are a Scrooge.

...and who will everyone complain to when the parks are filled with folks selling fajitas cooked on Coleman stoves, sodas out of coolers in the back of their trucks, paintings they bought at Big-Lots, and jewelry made from rocks collected out of the Tennessee River. There is a place for all of that - but is it at our parks? By allowing "The Ice-Cream Man" to sell there, the city is saying that vending is ok there for anyone. Do you all agree that anyone has the right to sell anything they wish at any time they want at the local parks?

There IS a place for everthing and last time I checked parks were for kids. I don't think they would want the fajita's, paintings or jewelry so those people would make no money and be gone. I know when I take my 4 kids to the park and they haved played for what seems like forever they love to have ice cream and cool off! Some things you just have to use your common sense.

From the article:

On April 3, Tina Kitchens, parks director, wrote Doug Mitchell, park police supervisor, to notify him about ice cream selling in Veterans Park.

She noted that ice cream selling was prohibited during ball games since, "This is direct competition for the concessions vendor as well as it affects the city's revenue as we get a percentage of the concession sales."

She later wrote, "It doesn't create much of a problem when ball games or special events aren't going on, however, to be consistent, we must enforce the policy."

"We wouldn't allow a T-shirt vendor or an artist to sell their product in the park, either, unless it is a specified special event," Kitchens wrote.

Seems to me you guys are mad at the wrong person. Just a thought.

quote:

Originally posted by
In a show of political courage and back-bone, "mayor" Bobby Irons lays down the law to The-Ice-Cream-Man,

Get your facts straight: It wasn't Iron's iron fist at work here, it was Tina Kitchens. I don't understand 1.) how this woman got the job to begin with and, 2.) why she still has it.

quote:

Originally posted by _Joy_:
From the article:

On April 3, Tina Kitchens, parks director, wrote Doug Mitchell, park police supervisor, to notify him about ice cream selling in Veterans Park.

She noted that ice cream selling was prohibited during ball games since, "This is direct competition for the concessions vendor as well as it affects the city's revenue as we get a percentage of the concession sales."

She later wrote, "It doesn't create much of a problem when ball games or special events aren't going on, however, to be consistent, we must enforce the policy."

"We wouldn't allow a T-shirt vendor or an artist to sell their product in the park, either, unless it is a specified special event," Kitchens wrote.

Seems to me you guys are mad at the wrong person. Just a thought.

The City of Florence's Leaders are ALL involved with decision making, just depends on which department is being reported as to the supervisor's name used..

The thing that Florence Residents need to really be concerned about is the ultimate GREED in "City Hall"... Trail of Tears, Ice Cream for kids hurts their revenue, and other things over the last year...

Someone, somewhere needs to stand up and say NO to the GREED.... just my humble opinion.

It isn't limited to Florence. I was told by a concessions worker in Spring Park that Mr. Robbins won't allow ice cream sales there because it'd compete with The Palace. Public and Private enterprises want to protect their revenues.

I still think that issuing a permit and regulating sales would be the solution. That way the ice cream vendor is protected from competing with people selling homemade ice cream (and whom could make people sick with Salmonella), the city is protecting their concession stands at ball-games, and people wouldn't have to worry about random folks selling random stuff at the parks and harrassing them and their kids.

The point you guys are failing to see is the person that started this thread and every thread tht bashes Irons is one of Carrier's Parade Leaders -- he has multiple personalities on this forum and half the screennames on this thread are his. He wants to spin this so that Carrier and Pickens look like the King and Queen and Irons is the Big Bad Wolf.

Thank you to Joy and the others for pointing out that Kitchens is the one that decided this with backing from the mayor. there are already ordinances in place that dictate what happens in cases like these. If we don't follow the laws on the books what is the purpose of having a law. Life has to be black and white in this city -- not everything can be a shade of gray. Gray opens the door for favoritisim and cronyism issues that you keep beating Irons over the head with -- make up your mind.

quote:

Originally posted by that smart chick:
It isn't limited to Florence. I was told by a concessions worker in Spring Park that Mr. Robbins won't allow ice cream sales there because it'd compete with The Palace. Public and Private enterprises want to protect their revenues.

I still think that issuing a permit and regulating sales would be the solution. That way the ice cream vendor is protected from competing with people selling homemade ice cream (and whom could make people sick with Salmonella), the city is protecting their concession stands at ball-games, and people wouldn't have to worry about random folks selling random stuff at the parks and harrassing them and their kids.

Makes good sense to me. City needs rules, kids NEED ice cream. Did I mention, I am a kid at heart?

Issuing a permit and regulating sales is the solution. they could define what is accepted and what is not, but they go to the extreme. We are talking ice cream for the kids from a legal source. They should encorage this kind of thing, instead they are giving these kids a negative outlook early. If the city had a consession stand it would be different , but that is not the case at all. It's kind of like the law that prevents anyone for parking a boat at mcfarland park for more than twelve hours(which leaves all those slips useless).

Other than going to bat for The-Ice-Cream-Man, Scott and Angie had nothing to do with this. This is Iron's baby. He looks the other way and sweeps big-time problems under the rug, and has "mixed emotions" about going after real culprits, but draws the hard-line here on Ice-Cream? Boy, that's showing 'em Bobby. Get tough man. He is always saying that running the city is his job day to day, not the City Council's. Okay, fine. Kitchens was hired by Irons. He chose her. She is his direct report. She is a Department Head who the Mayor is responsible for. Her policy is his policy and vice versa. Her actions are his actions. That's how delegation works. Believe me, she did not do anything without his approval and consent. It is buck-passing to say is not the Mayor's fault. What kind of leader would do that. Say it is my Dep't. Head's fault, not me? That confirms the hide-under-the-desk way this city is being run. The buck stops at the Mayor's desk as it ought. But here the desk is vacant. Bobby Irons hired Tina Kitchens. The going gets tough and people blame Kitchens and hide behind her? Come on. So who is really responsible? Get real. Irons blew it. This is hurtful to Mr. Harrison (The-Ice-Cream-Man) and most importantly, to the kids. Can you imagine what they think about the city, and what their parents are saying? This is a Public Relations disaster for Florence. No excuse. There has got to be a better way.

OK, so now Department Heads can't make decisions for themselves -- it is all Irons' fault. Give me a break. I know one particular Department Head that would give you a run for your money on that assumption. Believe me, if Kitchen's made the decision it was hers to make and the Mayor backed her up. The ordinance is in place for a reason like TSC and others have stated -- to protect the private businesses etc. Stop the witchhunt for Irons and give our other City Leaders a little credit. THey are not all "yes men and women" -- that is derogatory to say the least.