Editor:
I am writing to express my concern with the direction the debate on mobile vendor license has taken in recent months. Rather than focusing on town policy, we have focused on the two businesses involved with this decision. I don’t think that makes any sense at all in this case as both Bugwood Bean and Schimmel’s are great businesses run by good people. If we leave those businesses aside, I think most people agree that having a fair business environment for existing businesses and to help attract new businesses to our downtown corridor should be a priority for our community. Along those lines I doubt there are any downtown merchants that wouldn’t object to the town allowing a mobile vendor to operate seasonally right next door selling the exact same product.
I understand that mobile vendor licenses are important as they allow young entrepeneurs the opportunity to get into business cheaply (without having to pay for parking spaces, the alpine theme, property taxes, long term employees or town infrastructure) and really test their brand and business before taking major financial risks with a fixed base operation, but they do not belong downtown in direct competition with merchants who are deeply invested in our community. It is not fair to our merchants and bad town policy.
Smithers is unique, but not so unique that people are just going to stop, hike, shop, fish, ski or visit no matter what. Aside from its natural beauty what makes Smithers special is that it is a town full of life and great people. When we stop supporting our Main Street businesses, the inevitable result will be that Smithers is less vibrant and just a great place to grab a quick cup of coffee and keep going. Rather than drive away fishermen and tourists as a community we need to make them feel welcome and want to stay. That should begin with making Main Street our main event and the town making our downtown an attractive place to do business. It is clear to me that on this matter we are far from doing that.
Jeff Vermillion
Smithers