CARSTAIRS - Laural Pederson recently wrote to council asking for permission for her 10-year-old daughter to operate a lemonade stand in town.
In her letter Pederson wrote that since the family lives on Rge. Rd. 14, they would never let their daughter sit on the road with the speed of traffic being 100 km/h.
"This year my husband found a workaround," wrote Pederson. "The lemonade stand is being built on a trailer so that she can take it in to town. Claire would like to be able to take her stand over to the skatepark, ball diamonds or the splash park."
Pederson said their daughter is an avid skier, and they would like to see her use the lemonade stand as a "learning tool" to raise money for the upcoming race season.
"The lemonade stand would only operate on a casual basis; my husband and I both work full time so it would be a few hours in the evenings or on weekends," she said. "The lemonade stand will be hitched to our truck at all times, the trailer will be registered and we will obtain a business licence as directed by the Town of Carstairs."
McDonnell told the Gazette that council send the letter back to administration for more information.
"The young kid, her father built her a portable stand on a trailer for selling lemonade in the park," said McDonnell. "It sounds great – a kid selling lemonade. We have to look at whether Alberta Health Services has to look at it as 'hey, you're now a vendor.' What departments do we need to know that it's set up in the park. So it's a little different than a kid setting up a table and selling lemonade.
"Now what if other people want to do it? What if someone wants to open a hotdog stand? It would also compete with local businesses that pay taxes and employ people. There was a big discussion on it and it's nice that we're looking at it, but what's our philosophy long-term on food trucks in the park areas?"
McDonnell said that Coun. Shannon Wilcox was going to speak to the Pedersons, as she originally encouraged her to send the letter.
"She is going to meet with them and give them some ideas about possibly doing a folding table and selling lemonade there as opposed to a trailer being set up in the park," he said. "That would be the big difference."
When asked for further comment, the family declined.
