Valley Wagon announces closure online; meeting set with city officials to discuss options to remain open

On the evening of May 27th, the Valley Wagon, a local produce stand that has expanded in recent years to include flowers, ice cream, and a variety of home décor and gift items, announced via Facebook that it would be closing immediately. The social media announcement stated:

“After some very hard conversations and some long nights a decision has been made. We are closing The Valley Wagon in Grain Valley. The city of Grain Valley has put some pressure on us after 4 years of business to bring our site up to the city standard codes. Those standards and codes are to build permanent structures and pave our site. Those improvements cost more than the business can withstand. This is not the only reason the decision was made we also have the rising cost of goods, shipping, produce production, labor, and a host of all the expenses of running a business that has cut our margins. Stack all of this on a family life trying to raise kids keep the family intact and have happiness has put strain on our life. We love all of our customers and will miss everyone dearly and we know you will miss us just as much but we have to make hard decisions to protect our well being. We would like to thank each and every one of you for your support and kindness while we were in business we could not have built the business we had without you. This decision is effective immediately we are officially closed. Thank you again for all the great years.”

Predictably, the announcement created a series of online conversations among citizens and pulled Mayor Mike Todd into the fray online.

The produce stand and additional structures are located at 1451 S Buckner Tarsney Road and owned by Vince and Melissa Moehle. The Moehles began the business as a mobile produce wagon where customers could pick up fresh produce and pay on the honor system via a box on the wagon. The Moehles expanded in 2020, purchasing the approximate 3-acre lot at 1451 S Buckner Tarsney. The property is located along a floodway line.

“We were fully aware of floodway line, and we did get permission from the city to operate at that location as long as everything was mobile,” Melissa Moehle said.

In 2021, the Moehles added a portable shed in addition to the produce wagon, and in 2022, added a second portable shed where they sold ice cream and other packaged dessert and snack items. Electricity was added to the structure and permitted by the City in 2022.

The Moehles also added fencing and gravel to the area, and Melissa Moehle stated city officials who permitted the electrical did not raise concern about these additions at the time.

Mayor Mike Todd said the business is permitted as a produce wagon and one building temporarily.

“They are supposed to remove them at the end of every season and bring them back. That is what their permit is for. I know it is hard to believe that the city is nice sometimes, and we were just letting it go. We let the unpermitted building go for at least a year. That is where issues started coming in because we were not making them meet requirements that other retail businesses meet. They have a port-a-potty, there is no water on site, no sewer, they have gravel dow, and these are all things that other retail sites would not be able to do,” Todd said.

On January 2, 2024, Community Development Director Mark Trosen sent an email to the Moehles stating that “We have had a few inquiries regarding the number of buildings, signage and the businesses being operated from the Valley Wagon location. Our Building Official, Mike Russell, and I would like to meet and discuss these items with you.”

Melissa Moehle said she did not see this initial email as they do not regularly check their email in the off-season. Moehle said her first notification of an issue came in April, when Trosen called Moehle to inquire if they had seen his email requesting a meeting. Moehle said she told Trosen she had not seen the email, and this is the first time she was aware of any concerns. A meeting was scheduled for April 12th, where Trosen and Russell met with the Moehles at the Valley Wagon premises.

Moehle said Trosen stated they had received a number of call and complaints about the number of buildings on the property and expansion plans that appeared to violate city code. Moehle said she asked for details regarding the number and nature of the complaints and Trosen said they were undocumented and could not provide detail regarding how many complaints had been received. Moehle said they were provided three options, and that all options provided would lead to a hardship for their business:  

1. Scale back the business to the produce wagon and the original shed;
2. Complete hydrologic and hydraulic studies to submit to FEMA. Moehle states the estimated costs to complete these studies range between $15,000 and $20,000.
3. Do nothing and face daily fines.

Moehle stated plans for 2024 also included a bargain barn in the original shed structure as well as patio furniture for sale, and the couple was informed these would not be permitted as it falls outside the scope of a farmers’ market or produce stand.

Plans to add a food truck on site were also discussed and city staff explained that this feature could not be added without proper licensing, and the truck could not remain on site overnight.
Moehle said the couple left the meeting feeling blindsided.

“It reduced me to tears and that takes me a lot. This is our livelihood,” Moehle said.

Moehle said the couple began researching their options and found information on filing a variance application, which they completed and turned into City Hall. Moehle stated while they waited for a reply, she and her husband reached out to Missouri State Representative Jeff Coleman via email, as well as the mayor and aldermen representing the area where they business is located. Additionally, Vince Moehle reached out to FEMA for clarification of the rules. Moehle said they contacted an engineer who began exploring options and costs to complete the studies required.

In an April 25th email to Melissa Moehle, Trosen stated he had reviewed the application and addressed why a variance could not be granted:

“I have reviewed your variance application.  In the application, you stated that I did not provide the variance process as an option during our meeting on April 12, 2024.  The reason is the City cannot grant a variance within a designated Floodway unless there have been hydrologic and hydraulic analyses prepared by Missouri Registered Engineer using Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) guidelines that the proposed encroachment would not result in any increase in flood levels or FEMA issues a Letter of Map Amendment Revision (LOMAR) removing the property from the floodway. 
 
The City participates in the National Flood Insurance Program which offers flood insurance to homeowners, renters, and business owners. To be a participating community, the city has agreed to adopt and enforce floodplain management ordinances. If ordinances are not enforced, we could jeopardize our residents no longer being eligible for flood insurance.
 
The City Code of Ordinances contains Chapter 415 that pertains to the adoption of floodplain management regulations. I believe you are familiar with these regulations since you provided a copy from one of the sections.
 
In Section 415.050 under paragraph D (see attachment), it states that:
 
2. The community shall prohibit any encroachments, including fill, new construction, substantial improvements, and other development within the adopted regulatory floodway unless it has been demonstrated through hydrologic and hydraulic analyses performed in accordance with standard engineering practice that the proposed encroachment would not result in any increase in flood levels within the community during the occurrence of the base flood discharge.
 
Therefore, the items referenced in the application that are on-site or requesting to be on-site: fencing, gravel, portable shed(s), portable storage container, food trailer, port-a-potty, water storage on-site, solar pole lights and shade cloth are in violation of this code section.
 
Referring to Section 415.060, Floodplain Management Variance Procedures, under paragraph E, item 3 (see attachment), it states the following:
 
3. Variances shall not be issued within any designated floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result.
 
As stated above, we are unable to process your variance application because of Section 415.060 E. 3. The application is incomplete because it does not contain the necessary hydrologic and hydraulic studies that need to be reviewed and approved by FEMA to determine that the existing encroachment(s) would not result in any increase in flood levels.
 
You can pick up your application and check at the Water Utility Billing counter in City Hall where you dropped it off last week.
 
The violation noted above regarding Section 415.050 D.2 is being referred to the Code Enforcement Section who will be in touch with you in writing.”
 
Moehle said the couple felt they were faced with a “no win situation. We are still going to have to move all the structures and downsize our business. We are way behind on sales from last year, and it became not feasible to stay open.”

Todd said the announcement of their closure came as a surprise to the city as well.

“As of last week, their engineer came into city hall and pulled all of our flood management stuff that we had, so we thought that was the way they were going. No one at City Hall had any indication they were closing. No one said anything to us, and no one from the city said we were going to close them. We were going to renew their business license even though they were not meeting requirements because they were working toward a solution, we thought,” Todd said.

​Mayor Mike Todd and the Moehles have a meeting scheduled for Thursday afternoon, May 30th to discuss the issues and options available to the Valley Wagon.