County continues work to end peddling on St. George Island

County commissioners will likely hold a public hearing in August that will end peddling on St. George Island. The commission is responding to a number of complaints, mainly from business owners, about the peddlers who show up to sell their wares to the crowds of people that visit St. George Island’s beaches during the summer. The county has a 13 year old peddler’s ordinance that requires people to pay a fee and to stay in certain areas near the public beach – but for the most part that ordinance is ignored. Most of the peddlers show up on weekends when the crowds are biggest and county enforcement is weakest and they are generally gone again by Monday morning. That has business owners on St. George Island upset, because the peddlers are taking their customers and the peddlers don’t have to meet any of the expensive requirements that normal businesses do. The county is now considering doing away completely with the peddlers ordinance and that way police can just run off anyone they see peddling anywhere on St. George Island. The commission is still investigating whether they can legally make two exceptions for two long-time seafood dealers who work on the island – the county attorney is investigating that issue. The commission says that even it can’t allow the exceptions it will likely still vote to end all peddling from public property on the island.