Published in the High Desert Advocate in the September 4th, 2020 Edition.
(L to R) Joanna Jensen, Lift Driver, Mike Katsonis for the Census, and Tonnie Thorn, for a on-line businesswent in front of the city council this past Tuesday, Sept. 1st, 2020 (photo credit High Desert Advocate)
At this past week meeting, Tuesday, September 1st, 2020, three locals talked at the start of the meeting, during the “Public Comment” time:
• Joanna Jensen, who is “Lift Driver” and in the future wants to do “Food Home Deliveries”, and also work at the Airport but not so much since COVID, said that people told her she was braking the law because she needed to pay a business license. She was shocked and offended as she is an officer of the law and never broke the law before. She said: “I have no problems paying a city license, but my business is only conducted online, there is no impact to my neighborhood, so I am having a hard time for the $200. fee for the “Home occupation permit”… …
• Mike Katsonis, (used to be our local Pharmacist): I am working for the census, going door to door. I want to say that when I go home I wash this outfit, when I walk in the door, I put this outfit in the washing machine, and then the dryer for the next day and I take a shower so I don’t transmit covid. I must say that I have a real concern about the fact that we have a lot of frightened people out there…. That information is not going to be share with anybody…All I even need is only a head count, child 1, child 2, child 3, …adult 1, adult 2; and people don’t have to say if they are Spanish, or Latino if they don’t want too. It would be helpful if all they do is they give me a head count. Then I wouldn’t comeback. … …
• Tonnie Thorn, I came here after I talked to Anna, when we spoke about “impact survey”, “on line business”… I heard by many many people in our community, about “don’t waste your time with Nevada, go to Utah. that it is very hard in Nevada. Completely on line 100% business, nothing out of my home, so for me my biggest complaint is the $200. fee. I think that for the future it doesn’t need to be addressed for somebody who doesn’t want to start a business on-line and doesn’t have the $200. to pay for that, and due to the fact that there is more and more business who go online… If you could have a pick at that I would appreciate it…May be you could put it on the next agenda if may be you guys did some research to it … about fees…
West Wendover City Manager Chris Melville at the city council meeting this past Tuesday, Sept. 1st, 2020. (photo credit High Desert Advocate)
• City Manager, Chris Melville then said: “Just a brief public comment… I appreciate I did have a telephone conversation with Tonnie and Anna, and since then the Mayor, and I and Anna had a conversation… we think we have an appropriate path to bring to the council to remedy at least to one of the major concerns about the “Home occupation permit “and how online completely online type of businesses don’t have the same impact as traditional businesses have under our code… So the intent was to bring that back to the council for your discussion in the next meeting and then we can address that… Basically it would streamline that and basically make it more of an administrative function and sending out notices if it that kind of a business and we know that the impact in’t going to insure in the neighborhood…
