City Council to Deal With Food Trucks and Public Transit
(Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - It appears a food truck will soon be operating in downtown Rochester.
The City Council agenda for Monday includes a vote on approving the first Mobile Food Unit license under a recently revised city ordinance. Muharam Dedic submitted an application to operate as The Back Alley Kitchen. So far, his is the only application received by the city since the ordinance won final approval. It requires the operator of the food truck to pay the city annual license and franchise fees totaling $1,250. That will allow the business to serve customers in specified areas of the downtown during specific hours.
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The City of Rochester is about to begin the process of seeking proposals from firms interested in operating Rochester’s public transit system, even though the legal fight over the first bidding process for the contract remains unresolved.
The City Council is scheduled to act Monday evening on a proposal to seek proposals covering the 5 year period running from 2017 through 2021 with options to extend the contract to a total of 10 years. An outside law firm has been hired to manage the selection process. Applications must be submitted by August 23rd, and it’s anticipated the contracted will be awarded by October 3.
First Transit was awarded a four year contract in 2012 after the federal government ordered the city to use a competitive bidding process to select the firm that runs the city’s public bus system and other transit operations. That led to a lawsuit by Rochester City Lines, which had operated the city’s bus system since 1966 and claimed the bidding process was unfair and biased. The long and costly case, which has been heard twice by the Minnesota Supreme Court, is currently set for trial later this year.