By James Geluso, The Chronicle, 1/6/99
The water is flowing again on Mellen Street.
Jim Nelson hung an ''open'' sign on his kiosk Tuesday, and tore off the duct tape that had covered the coin slots on the water vending machines in the parking lot of King Solomon's Restaurant in south Centralia.
The Lewis County Public Health Division had closed the kiosk Dec. 29 after inspectors saw it for the first time. The agency ruled the water vending machines need a permit to operate.
Nelson said the kiosk is just two vending machines placed back-to-back, but because people bring their own containers and the machines are standing in the middle of a parking lot, the health division is treating the machines differently.
But while Nelson's machines were shut down, machines at local grocery stores were allowed to operate under the stores' permits. Nelson argued he should have been allowed to operate under King Solomon's permit.
''He's a stand-alone business. He's out there in a parking lot,'' countered Jeannie Yackley, sanitarian at the health division.
She said the machines at Fuller Market Place and Safeway, while outside, are still considered to be store equipment. She said the espresso stand in Fuller's parking lot is required to have its own permit.
Yackley said separate permits for the machines may be required if the stores refuse to take responsibility for the machines and any problems that may arise because of them. But that policy has not been decided yet, she said, and the agency is still meeting with managers at the stores, and at the companies that own the machines.
''We're thinking it over. We can't make these decisions in a day,'' she said.
''While they're going through a learning process, I'm the only one that's closed,'' Nelson complained.
Still, Nelson got his permit much faster than normal, Yackley said. He got his on Tuesday, only a week after the controversy started. Usually, it takes two weeks to process a permit, she said.
James Geluso covers business news for The Chronicle. He can be reached by e-mail at news@chronline.com or by telephoning 807-8231.
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