Ice cream trucks will soon return to DeKalb County.
After working on a solution since May, the County Commission on Tuesday finally tweaked a county code that had banned the Good Humor Man and his ilk. The CEO has eight days to sign off on the change, putting Fudgesicles, Push Pop pops and other summery treats on the road just in time for back-to-school shopping.
The reason for the last two-week delay: the local law makes sure no frozen meats or packaged sandwiches are peddled along with the ice cream novelties.
"We just want to make sure no one is going door-to-door trying to sell steaks. That could potentially be a problem," County Commissioner Jeff Rader said.
The first problem popped up when county police ticketed an ice cream truck driver twice for violating the local code that banned the sale of any food from a cart or vehicle on a county street.
Embarrassed at being painted anti-ice cream, officials began studying a way to solve a problem they didn't even know existed. At first, the proposal called for allowing any vendor with a state Agriculture Department permit to operate on county roads between noon and 8 p.m. every day.
Tuesday's vote also added specific foods to be sold -- all of the frozen treats, sodas and candy that typical ice cream vendors offer.
The owner of the cited ice cream truck, who has been selling in Rockland County since learning of the ban, can drive DeKalb streets as soon as the CEO signs off on the change. He has eight days to do so, meaning ice cream could be on offer by early August.
"Get the music ready: we are bringing ice cream back to DeKalb." Commissioner Larry Johnson said.
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