SYRACUSE - Over 40 people showed up to support Michele Camacho and her husband, owners of Twisted Tiki food truck, waiting over two hours for a chance to speak and several stood out in the hallway for the duration of the meeting as there were no more seats available.
During town attorney Jay Rigdon’s report at the end of the meeting, Rigdon addressed concerns with food trucks without naming a specific food truck, including reports of violations of not purchasing a food vendor’s permit, not tapping into the sewer system properly and having a water supply coming from a garden hose.
Rigdon said there are some laws changing regarding mobile food establishments, including a law that will take effect July 1 stating towns won’t be allowed to ask for permits for mobile food establishments so he suggested the council not concern themselves with that violation. He said the state is working on stricter regulations that would be consistent statewide regarding mobile food establishments, but that will be a year or so down the road. Rigdon said the concerns about potential violations of public health and safety is “not a question you can choose to ignore.”
Shortly after his report, the floor was opened for non-agenda items and Michele Camacho spoke, saying she was the owner of the food truck that Rigdon said had violations. Twisted Tiki is set up at 600 S. Huntington St. in the lot owned by Jason Metz and his business, Metz’s Indoor/Outdoor Furniture. Camacho shared that last August they went before the Board of Zoning Appeals and they approved the layout and her plans to have a food truck plus a renovated Airstream, which is outfitted as a commissary/prep kitchen and there were no remonstrances at that time. The town had 30 days to object and no one did.
Camacho said she spoke to the town manager and Utility Superintendent Mark Aurich regarding their plans. She said Aurich, who was not present at the meeting, told her they need to be connected to water and sewer. She said the water supply is a food-grade hose with a filter that has been approved by the health department. Aurich told her she could tie into an existing sewer line rather than have a new tap and she even used the contractor he recommended.
Camacho said she’s signed a three-year lease and spent $100,000 on upgrades to customize the Airstream into a prep kitchen. Several months later, the code enforcement officer came and said she had to remove the Airstream, which she said would shut down her business.
She said, “I hate the position we’re in. I don’t want to be at odds with the town. I came here to bring positivity and something good to Syracuse.”
Camacho said they’re not in violation of any ordinances since the ordinance regarding RVs states they can’t be parked in public space and they are not. They can’t be hooked up to the utilities if they are used for habitation and her Airstream is not habitable and she received an okay from the health department and the BZA.
Rigdon said the BZA does not make decisions about whether they are hooked up properly and the town council is responsible for the town’s finances as far as customers paying for utilities. He said if the health department is okay with the way they are hooked up to a water source and sewer, the town needs to see that documentation. He also said no one said they had to move the Airstream, the code enforcement officer thought they were improperly hooked up.
She said, “Can we agree that there was ill-informed decision by town management? I’m very upset by this. How can we put this behind us and work together?”
Musser said if she was renting, she needed to be a separate utility customer and open an account in her name. She said she was willing to do that, but it was just part of her lease agreement with Metz that she pays the utilities that are in his name and she was told that it was okay.
Clerk-Treasurer Virginia Cazier weighed in, saying what they were doing was fine by tapping into an existing sewer line and paying Metz for utilities. Cazier said some landlords keep the utilities for their rentals in their name, not the tenants and have the tenants pay the landlord for the utilities.
Council President Nae Scherer said, “You’re admittedly doing something new and innovative and as such it creates gray areas. We have to work within our ordinances. Entrepreneurship and government work at different paces.”
Camacho responded, “If there are gray areas, come down and talk to us and we’ll work it out.”
Scherer said he has been her advocate but she and her followers have attacked him on social media and called to boycott his business, which has created harm. Scherer is part-owner of South Shore Social with Jeff Dyson. “To place blame on us as the council is not fair.”
Camacho’s husband said he feels they’ve encountered nothing but harassment.
Councilwoman Cindy Kaiser said she thought about walking over to talk to Camacho but feared it would be posted on social media. Camacho said she accepts responsibility for some of her social media posts but said, “I feel we needed these people here behind me.”
(On Twisted Tiki’s Facebook page, they held a “town council rally” prior to the meeting, giving free food to supporters and encouraging them to attend the meeting.)
A couple of people spoke in support of Twisted Tiki. One woman who lives in Warsaw said she comes to Syracuse for their food. A young man said Syracuse needed the food truck business. One man challenged Scherer, asking whether he should recuse himself since he owned a competing business. That comment went ignored by the council, but Dyson, who was seated nearby, said that wasn’t true.
One issue has been the seeming change from a mobile business to a permanent restaurant and Scherer said, “Which are you?” To which the couple responded, “Both.”
Rigdon offered a solution for Wilkinson to obtain the health department’s report and then have the parties sit down to work on making sure the utilities are hooked up properly according to the town’s ordinances. The council and the Camachos agreed to that solution.