Business owners say Hiawatha gouged them during RAGBRAI

HIAWATHA - Two Hiawatha businesses are criticizing fees they were charged when the popular Iowa biking event RAGBRAI wheeled through - several blocks away - last month.

Representatives of Farmer's Daughter's Market and Papa's Sports Bar said the city demanded they pay hundreds of dollars in permits fees for outdoor activities during RAGBRAI on July 23 or be shut down. They said the fees were excessive and unfair, given their events were on private property. But with short notice, they said they had little choice but to pay.

Now they want refunds.

'(They said) because you are going to benefit from business from RAGBRAI - even though I am already open - you are going to pay this,” said Jennifer Goodlove of Farmer's Daughter's. 'I don't believe just because RAGBRAI comes through they can call up and say you have to pay this or else. That is not fair.”

Hiawatha City Administrator Kim Downs said only businesses scaling up to benefit from the ride, such as erecting tents and hiring bands to attract riders, were charged a $600 vendor fee. The same fee applied to vendor booths at the main stage area in Guthridge Park.

This is at least the second wave of complaints pitting the rights of private business versus accommodations for RAGBRAI, one of the state's premiere tourist events of the year.

Earlier, bar owners in Solon and Palo said law enforcement demanded they stop serving or face arrest or fines in order to move along RAGBRAI riders as a public safety precaution.

The Hiawatha City Council passed a special ordinance for RAGBRAI in May as a stipulation for getting mapped into this year's ride, Downs said. Among other things, the ordinance set vendor fees and authorized charging businesses, she said.

She said the applicable language states: 'No for-profit person shall provide or sell food or goods to the public in Hiawatha, Iowa on July 23, 2015 or July 24, 2015, at a location other than their regularly established place of business unless said person shall first obtain a Commercial Vendor Booth Permit.”

The city normally requires businesses to get a permit for large outdoor activities, but Downs acknowledged the standard is a $35 tent fee.

'The RAGBRAI fee is certainly a different cat, and the reason for that is to pay for all the extra expenses we have when hosting 15,000 people,” Downs said.

Farmer's Daughter's and Papa's are licensed to serve food and drink outside, which is part of their frustration.

'I can see a fee if you are on a bridge, in a street, or in a park, but this is a private parking lot, a private business,” said Jim Roman, a representative of Papa's.

Papa's split the $600 fee with their neighbor, Pour Sports bar. Michael Hayes, co-owner of Pour Sports, said he has no issue with the fee.

'If you are having a function, it takes some money to have the function, so I don't think the city was being unfair at all,” Hayes said.

Goodlove said she volunteered to house 40 riders overnight, which the city requested. She paid $1,500 for a large shade tent, $1,000 for two bands and another bill for four portable toilets to welcome the visitors at her store.

The garden-themed store and cafe ramped up food supplies and brought in four wineries, but all business transactions occurred inside the store, she said.

When the city demanded $600 shortly before the event after hearing of her plans, Goodlove had little recourse but pay and fight later, she said.

'What do you do?” Goodlove asked. 'I had too much on the line already, so I paid the fee.”

Goodlove paid another $600 to have a stand at Guthridge Park and $75 for an electrical hookup, which she isn't contesting.

Goodlove is listed on the City Council's Wednesday agenda to state her case. Roman said he or another representative of Papa's will attend.

Downs, who served on Hiawatha's RAGBRAI advisory committee, said she is skeptical a refund will be granted, but ultimately it will be up to Dave Saari, chairman of the vendor committee from the Hiawatha RAGBRAI committee, not the City Council.

Saari didn't return several messages.