RAPID CITY - Though it can't be proved, the idea of slipping out of a long meeting to enjoy a tasty hot dog might have played a role in the Pennington County Commission's decision to allow a food cart to operate at the courthouse.

The commission Tuesday approved a contract with Steve Sneve to operate Top Dawg, a mobile vending cart that sells hotdogs, brats, chips, bottled water and pop.

"After all this, I'm pretty happy about it," Sneve said, referring to the more than three weeks it took to work through the process.

Weather permitting, Sneve and his wife, Consuelo, plan to be up and running by Thursday, Aug. 23, hawking hotdogs.

"We're keeping it really simple. Maybe eventually we can expand to peppers and onions, burgers, and things like chili," he said.

But for now, Sneve is just happy to have a regular place to set up his cart, a new business venture for Sneve who has 20 years of experience in the mortgage industry.

Sneve expects to operate through October, depending on the weather, with tentative hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The contract with the county designates the cart's location along the entryway between the courthouse and Public Safety Building; indicates that Sneve is an independent contractor and not a county employee; and requires Sneve to provide $1 million proof of insurance and name Pennington County as an additional insured.

Sneve will provide all equipment and is responsible for picking up trash, though the county will provide trash cans. The contract is in effect through the end of this year, and either side can terminate it with three days' notice.

Sneve also agreed to pay $30 a day to the county for being allowed to set up, a change from the original contract, which proposed giving the county 10 percent of sales substantiated by sales-tax figures sent to the state. But that was unworkable, because not all of Sneve's sales will be generated solely from courthouse business. He may set up in other places in the evenings, on weekends or provide catering.

The commission voted 4-1 to approve the contract. Ethan Schmidt voted against it.

Commissioner Jim Kjerstad said that during the winter, the county may need to talk about developing a policy covering all vendors.

"I'm sure there will be others that will want to use the space for similar kinds of things, so I think we need a policy that applies to everybody."

Contact Scott Aust at 394-8415 or scott.aust@rapidcityjournal.com