GO-TO GAL: What’s with water tower’s ‘ring-around-the tower’?

Q. What are the restrictions on door-to-door salespeople in Newton?

A. You gotta love it when you’re all snuggled up in your basement TV room, only to hear the doorbell ring. You run upstairs, stub your toe, throw open the door — and it’s someone wanting to sell you something. Gotta love it.

But what are the rules and regs on such activities in Newton? Bob Myers, city attorney, broke it down for me.

Newton city ordinances require door-to-door salespeople to obtain a license and pay a $5-per-day “occupation tax” in order to do business in the city. This also applies to street peddlers and those who sell products somewhere other than from a permanent business premise, Myers said. That’s the only requirement the city has on these activities.

This doesn’t apply to those selling items to raise money for non-profits, religious or education organizations, so the kid selling candy bars for band or the youth group offering cookie dough isn’t subject to the “tax.”

Now, those distributing information only are governed by different regulations.

Those distributing commercial “handbills” have to have a license from the city, which costs $20 for seven days or $50 annually.

“Certain identifying information must be provided to the city so we can follow up on any complaints of inappropriate activities by those persons,” Myers said.

A license isn’t required to distribute a handbill through a subscription or another arrangement, and also doesn’t apply for those distributing material for political candidates or for religious, educational or charitable organizations.

But anyone distributing handbills of any kind is prohibited from distribution of handbills in a way that creates litter, and handbills can’t be attached to any public property, utility poles, etc., or to private property without the owner’s permission. And if a property has posted that such stuff can’t be distributed, well, then, the city prohibits it from being distributed. Shocking.

Q. Is the tank on the new 12th Street water tower used?

A. Nope. It’s brand spankin’ new. (I checked and didn’t see any 500,000-gallon tanks for sell on eBay.)

Now, several have commented the tower already is rusting, so I asked Suzanne Loomis, director of public works and oh-so-patient question-answerer, what the deal is.

What we see isn’t rust, she said. The bottom of the tank had to be welded in, because when it was put up, it had an open bottom — not so conducive to holding water — and the welding heats up the edge along the bottom of the tank.

The contractor then comes and re-primes and paints it, which is a normal part of the process, not something unexpected.

The contractor also paints the inside of the tank once it is set.

Q. Where is the thermometer located that gives the official temperature for Newton? Where is the rain gauge located that gives the official rain amounts for Newton, as there are so many different amounts that are measured?

A. Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer for this, even though I have tried. We pull our weather from www.weather.com, and I’ve tried to find out from them where they record temperatures and rainfall, but I’ve never heard back or gotten an answer. Weather.com 1, Go-To Gal 0.

Q. What is the law regarding parking on the wrong side of the street, and parking on the wrong side of the street at a T-intersection? How long can a vehicle legally park at the same place on the street without moving?

A. Lt. Eric Murphy with the Newton Police Department checked on these for me, and here’s the scoop.

It is illegal to park on the wrong side of the road (against the direction of traffic). I really didn’t know that. It is illegal to park in any intersection or within 30 feet of an intersection, so parking at a T-intersection would be governed by such regulations. Translation: Don’t park there.

As far as how long a vehicle can be parked, Murphy said unless it’s in a place with a posted definite time limit (such as in places downtown), there is no limit. However, the vehicle has to be legally parked and legally tagged (tags can’t be expired). It also has to be operable — disabled vehicles cannot be parked on the street. If it violates any of those rules, police can put a red tag on the vehicle and give the owner 48 hours to move it. If it’s not moved, it can be towed, although Murphy said they sometimes work with owners if they need more time.

And that’s all for this week, folks. Toodles!