Café appeals agency’s penalty

The new owner of the popular Skyway Café at Felts Field is protesting a penalty levied by the Spokane Regional Health District, claiming that agency officials didn’t make it clear he needed a restaurant permit.

John Melter, 55, said “condescending” government employees charged him twice for a $590 permit – and threatened to shut down his business within hours if he didn’t pay it.

Though Melter wrote a check for nearly $1,200 in November to keep the doors open, he appealed the extra payment twice and has been turned down both times.

Now he’s taking the issue to the health district board of directors, who must hold a hearing by Feb. 7.

“I want them to tell me they made a mistake, give me my $590 and write me an apology,” Melter said this week.

Neither state licensing instructions nor the health district’s Web site make it clear that restaurant operators are required to get annual permits, said Melter, who bought the business from his wife’s sister in August. He leases the space from the Spokane International Airport and holds a valid business license for the café, state records show.

“The guideline clearly and undeniably doesn’t require us to call the health department,” Melter said. “I thought this was kind of odd, but I stopped swimming upstream a long time ago.”

But Dr. Larry Jecha, the agency’s interim health officer, said he denied the request for a refund because Melter should have known better.

“It’s kind of common sense,” Jecha said. “Anybody opening a restaurant should know that public health is involved.”

State licensing instructions list the health district as a contact, but don’t indicate specific permits are required. The health district’s Web site includes information about restaurant permits under the category of “food safety,” which Melter said doesn’t make sense. The specific permit and fee required is a one-line note inside a seven-page document.

“It is ridiculous,” Melter said. “I wouldn’t look there. I would look under licensing, or business licenses.’”

Melter said he had no problem paying the food permit fee, once he knew about it. He objected to being charged twice and being threatened with closure.

“Their attitude was, ‘Sucks to be you,’ ” Melter said.

Health district rules, however, specifically allow the agency to levy fines equal to 100 percent of fees if food program permit applications aren’t received two weeks before new restaurants open, said administrator Torney Smith.And while the Skyway isn’t new, the annual permits – either $290 for a limited restaurant or $590 for a complex restaurant – are clearly marked “non-transferable,” he said.

“It’s a whole lot like me telling the police officer that I didn’t see the ‘cross here’ sign, so can I avoid my ticket?” said Smith.

Smith added that health district employees are trained to be “courteous, appropriate and professional.”

But Melter said he objected to the tone of officials’ comments almost as much as the fine.

“They’re condescending, they’re self-righteous,” he said, noting that he and his wife pay thousands of dollars a year in taxes.

If his penalty isn’t refunded, will Melter sue?

“Let that be a surprise,” he said.