The Little Giant food cart’s ongoing dispute with the city of Cumberland was revisited Tuesday during the regular city council meeting, but again, little resolution was found between the two sides.

The dispute began at the council’s March meeting when council member Eugene Stagnolia said he had received complaints of a food establishment operating out of a trailer on Main Street. Stagnolia said he believed the business was in violation of the city’s zoning ordinance.

Gist then explained that she had already gone to considerable expense to comply with health regulations and obtain a privilege license. One of her supporters, Benham City Council member George Massey, said the council should have informed Gist sooner if her business was operating illegally.

At the April meeting, the council agreed to back the city’s planning and zoning committee’s ruling that the Little Giant was in violation of a city ordinance that prohibits businesses from operating out of trailers on Main Street.

Two months later, Gist was told that processing of her request for a new privilege license was “at a standstill” until the city could determine whether the business was in the flood zone.

The water at the business was cut off in mid-June, about two weeks before Gist’s privilege license was set to expire, after her landlord told her to transfer the water account into her own name. According to a previous Enterprise report, Gist said her landlord later asked the city to turn the water back on in Gist’s name and was told by Mayor Loretta Cornett that the water would not be turned back on due to the council’s objection to the business.

While protesters demonstrated across the street from city hall for much of Tuesday’s meeting, Little Giant owner Emma Gist waited nearly two hours before her dispute was addressed by the Rev. Jake Ravizee, who attended the meeting in support of Gist.

“I don’t know all the details, except for the fact that justice isn’t being done,” Ravizee told the council. He went on to encourage the two sides to find common ground.

“If we don’t work together, you know we’re going to sink,” he said. “Scripture says it this way: ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’”

After Ravizee’s comments, Cornett asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting but was stopped as several other citizens and council members wanted to address the issue.

Council member Eugene Stagnolia reiterated that the decision ultimately lies in the hands of the planning and zoning committee. Gist argued that the committee has not shown her exactly which ordinance she is violating. Stagnolia and council member Kateena Haynes suggested that the council attend the planning and zoning committee’s meeting, scheduled for today at noon.

“I want to ask them point-blank,” Stagnolia said.

In an interview conducted Wednesday evening, Gist said she will not attend the meeting and that she is ready to pursue other avenues.

“I cannot attend the meeting without my attorney present,” she said. “I’m not a dog — I’m not going to keep begging.

“My plans now are to get with the Attorney General and get with the local offices like the ACLU and the NAACP. I don’t want to talk to (the council) anymore. Enough is enough.”

The council will meet today at 11:30 a.m. to hear the second reading of the 2009-2010 budget, with a planning and zoning committee meeting set for noon.

In other business Tuesday:

-- Cornett announced that Carolyn Elliott has been appointed to the ethics board of the Cumberland Valley Area Development District. The council unanimously approved the appointment for a four-year term.

-- Elliott was also asked to replace chairman Don Disney on the planning and zoning committee after Disney resigned. Elliott said she wanted to “check into” the position before accepting.

-- The council approved the appointment of Scott Sherman to the Cumberland Tourist Convention and Commission for a three-year term.

-- Cornett announced that the Billips Avenue bridge construction project is progressing. “It looks like a different world down there,” she said.

-- The mayor also announced that several volunteers, including the employees of Touch of Country restaurant, have pitched in to repaint curbs in the city and said the project will continue when more paint is available.

-- Cornett said the blacktopping project in New York Section will begin next week.

-- Hatfield proposed a flag display project to hang American flags on utility poles on certain holidays. The council unanimously agreed to request donations from the Tri-City Chamber of Commerce and the tourism commission. Stagnolia and Hatfield will attend meetings of the two organizations to request the funding.

-- Bobbie Gothard, of the Main Street program, announced the receipt of a $700 grant to purchase shrubs and trees for the city. Gothard also informed the council that discussions are taking place to make KY 160 and U.S. 421 part of the Coal Heritage Trail. The council granted permission for signs to be displayed along 160 in Cumberland.

-- Jeff and Linda Sim, of Heritage Ministries, announced the formation of Shelter of Hope, a ministry to provide assistance to those who are homeless or who lose their homes and belongings in fires. The ministry is being headed by Steve and Jennifer Sousa. Jim “Muggins” Bennett, of the American Red Cross, also spoke on behalf of the organization.