Flea Market Task Force begins compliance checks

by Nick Delgado

Guam - A new task force comprised of several Government of Guam regulatory agencies was formed to keep vendors at the Dededo Flea Market in check. The creation of the group follows reports of shoppers getting injured or even food poisoning.

Those who simply want to set up shop and sell things at the Dededo Flea Market will no longer be allowed to do so, at least without being regulated. Much to their surprise, more than a dozen personnel from the Guam Fire and Police Departments and the Department of Integrated Services for Individuals with Disabilities swarmed the flea market early Saturday morning to address health and safety concerns.

DISID director Ben Servino said, "Especially in the outskirts of the fenced area, that's been paved they received a number of complaints from individuals in the community about the inaccessibility. So did our office. We received a number of complaints about the inaccessibility of the area in the private flea market area and also the buffer zone, the Harmon Loop area that's owned by Public Works."

DISID's Evaluation, Enforcement and Compliance Unit organized the educational campaign to ensure activity at the flea market complies with the law. The task force includes the Dededo mayor, her planning council, and representatives from DPW, GPD, GFD, Public Health, the Guam EPA, Rev & Tax, Land Management, and the Attorney General's Office.

"We developed an educational plan so that when we go up to the vendors and the owners of these businesses at the flea market area especially along the old butler building that's out there now it's very unsafe people walking in there parking in there, there are vendors along the strip the buffer zone selling items and they've never gotten permits to sell in fact they're not allowed to get permits because that's a buffer zone," said Servino.

Vendors were actually put on notice on June 30. The task forced informed vendors that they were illegally doing business along the sidewalks and grassy area in front of the old Butler building. Servino says the task force including GPD and other law enforcement agencies will be inspecting this weekend to ensure there are no further violations, or vendors will be issued citations.

He said, "I regret that none of this has been enforced in the past, but it isn't right that they continue."

Vendors who sell food must now have health certificates and sanitary permits and ADA regulations must be complied with for accessible parking. "We're not out there to harass anybody we're out there to again promote equal access from a safety and health, especially since the mayor has been receiving a number of complaints that people are getting food poisoning or getting injured when they're walking, I see a lot of tourist walking in there and they injure their ankles they trip against the rocks and the terrain," he said.

The task force is meeting this Thursday at the DISID office in Hagatna.