Critters Owner Not Pleased with Glendale Raising Permit Fees for Kiddie Rides

Jack Aroyan has owned Critters in Montrose on Honolulu Avenue since late 2011, when he took it over from the previous owner. The store sells toys, candy, stuffed animals and other novelty items for kids, and also has several coin-operated kiddie rides out front. 

Aroyan spoke to the Montrose Shopping Park Association Board at its meeting on Sept. 5 and told them about his background and how business has been so far. 

Aroyan was born in Lebanon, grew up in Sweden and moved to the United States in 2002. He said he had worked at his uncle's dry cleaning business when he was a teenager and took it over when he was 20. When he moved to the U.S., he started looking for the opportunity to own his own business again. 

"Always in my blood was, I have to do my own business I have to work for myself. I was always uncomfortable to work for someone else and make him rich," Aroyan said. 

Business has been good, Aroyan told the board. 

"I have nothing to complain about Montrose. It’s a beautiful town," Aroyan said. "Parents, they come to Critters. Almost every day there is a line at the rides outside and they ask, 'Are you the owner?' And I say, 'No. I’m the pride owner.' So almost everybody they know me now."

The only problem, Aroyan explained, arose a few months after he took over, and it was in regard to those popular kiddie rides. 

Aroyan said he received an unexpected visit from an employee of the city of Glendale and she gave him some unexpected news.  

"When I took over Critters, months later a lady came asking me, 'Do you have a permit for the rides outside?'" Aroyan told the board. "I have no idea, I said, 'No, do I need a permit?' She said, 'Yeah, you need a permit and you didn’t pay your dues last year.' I say, 'OK send me the bill so I can pay it.'  So she said, 'You’re going to get a penalty too because you are late.' I said, 'Why are you punishing me? I just started the business here, I had no idea I needed the permit, I didn’t get a bill.'"

Aroyan said when he got the bill, the woman was nice enough not to include the late fee. But then, just a few months later, another bill arrived for the coming year, and the permit fee was higher.

"So I called her and asked her. She said the city of Glendale raised the price for the permit," Aroyan said. "I asked her, 'What is this, every year you are going to raise the rate? I’m not making millions of dollars, I’m trying to make a living here, and you are taking a big chunk of my profit. This is just kiddie rides, maybe the rides are here for like 30 years. It’s an icon on Honolulu.'"

Jackie Bartlow of the Glendale Community Development Agency, who was in attendance at the meeting, explained that the city had raised fees recently across the board.

"Those are set by ordinance, and they hadn’t raised fees in years, so recently they increased rates," Bartlow said.

Aroyan said the rides currently cost $125 per ride for the permit, and that he is worried the city is simply going to jack the rate up each year. Bartlow said there is no current plan by the city to raise the rates again.

Aroyan said he would complain to to the Glendale City Council but that he would have "zero percent" change of winning, so he asked if the MSPA board could reach out to the city.

"Well, I don't know kind of chance we have, in so far of those kinds of fees," Board President Ken Grayson said.

Grayson and other members of the board added that they would speak to the city about the fees.