Identifying businesses that still have not obtained the now-required business license in Holiday Island is becoming a priority for the city.
Mayor Dan Kees told city council members at its regular meeting on July 16 of a plan to identify those and penalties that could eventually be issued for business that fail to comply.
“Where we’ve had no response whatsoever, I think we need to prioritize the list,” Kees said, adding that some businesses that have failed to obtain a license are of “high degree of visibility and business activity.”
“We will give them a notice of violation and we’ll personally deliver it by the code enforcement officer or his designee,” he said. “We want face-to-face contact. Get in there and let them know they need to have a license. … I hope to be able to handle this in a very non-confrontational way. We’ll record the date and time and name of the person that we contacted.”
The notice will include a timeframe that the business will be required to apply for the license.
“If they fail to respond in that timeframe, then a list of those businesses will be presented to the city council for review and approval to issue a cease and desist order,” Kees said. “Step three would be if the business still fails to comply with the ordinance and continues to operate after the receipt of a cease and desist order, then a citation will be issued with a maximum potential fine of $500 a day, starting with the date of the cease and desist order, which is again, per our ordinance.”
As of the July 16 meeting, there were 47 businesses identified that have not applied for a license, “to our knowledge,” Kees said.
“The number totals 47, of which 21 are for short-term rentals and 26 are not,” the mayor said. “Now the 21 for short-term rentals very well may have their paperwork and we haven’t seen an application for a business license, and they’re just waiting for an inspection.”
Kees said he hopes the in-person initial contact with businesses will be all that’s needed to get compliance.
“I’m hoping that a lot of those 47 can be wiped out just by making that initial face-toface contact where we find out that people on that list, for one reason or another, didn’t realize they had to get a business license,” he said. “An example, Dollar General is one that hasn’t made any attempt to get a business license. It’s more than likely because it’s lost in the paper shuffle. A corporate or local manager might be oblivious to what goes on in the city or whatever.
“So, I think a lot of these we’re going to be able to resolve just by making that initial face-to-face contact.”
The city had issued 64 business licenses as of the July 16 meeting, Kees told council members.
“In summary, 25 of them were for shortterm rentals and 39 were for non-short term rentals,” he said. “There’s 40 applications pending inspections.”
When all the businesses in the city, including the short-term rentals, obtain the business license, there will be a total of 151 licenses issued, the mayor told council members.
“… Of which, 76 would be for [shortterm rentals] and 75 for non-STRs,” Kees said. “There’s more short-term rental properties than that, but some business licenses are issued for multiple properties.”
With the backlog of inspections needing to be completed, Kees recommended to go ahead and issue Conditional Use Permits, “pending the completion of inspections.”
“Then we’ll get with [assistant fire chief] Gary [Martin] and try to figure out how many [inspections] it’s reasonable to expect to be able to knock out each month, or something like that, and try to put together some rough idea of how long it’s going to take to clear this backlog.”
Under the ordinance, businesses are required to get an inspection every three years.
“We’re probably going to have to do some planning to figure out how to spread this out so that it doesn’t all come hit the fire department at the same time [three years from now],” Kees said. “There’s some work going forward, but if we go ahead and issue the business license with a note that says eventually we need to get the business an inspection, at least we’ll get the people legal and operating.”
ATES SAYS GOODBYE
At the end of his monthly report, Randy Ates, who recently submitted his resignation as fire chief, thanked city officials for their support.
“I say goodbye to the city council and mayor,” said Ates, whose last day at Holiday Island is Friday, July 26. “I have enjoyed working with you. It has been a blast and I appreciate the support the city has given the fire department, and I hope it will continue.”
Ates told the council that Rich Figgins, district manager of the Holiday Island Suburban Improvement District, which oversees the fire department, approved Martin to become interim chief after Ates’ departure.
“It’s kind of a humbling deal here,” Martin told the council while being introduced. “I was hoping to replace Chief Ates in about five years at a retirement party, but I’m humbled and honored that he’s trusted me enough to ask me to step in and HISID has approved.
“I look forward to continuing our relationship with the city. I feel we have a good one and I’m looking forward to making it even better as we go forward to provide the best possible service that we can.”
Council member Linda Graves thanked Ates for his time in the city.
“I just want to thank you, Chief Ates,” Graves said. “A thanks for everything he’s done and the time he’s been with us. He’s a wonderful fire chief, the best I think we could possibly have hoped to have had around here.
“He did everything he was asked to do and did it wonderfully well. He saved our ISO rating and we should all be extremely grateful for that. I wish you well and I wish you weren’t leaving.”
Ates then received an ovation from everyone in attendance.
