HGP Nightly News – Georgetown’s City Hall has been served with a blunt legal warning: clear vendors operating around the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) within three days, or brace for court proceedings.
The disclosure was made by Town Clerk Candace Nelson during a statutory meeting of the Mayor and Councillors on Monday, where she told the Council that a lawyer’s letter had arrived demanding immediate action. Nelson said the correspondence signalled an intention to seek a court order of mandamus if the Mayor and City Council fails to remove the vendors within the deadline.
“I just received another lawyer’s letter, this time to remove vendors from around Georgetown (Public) Hospital within three days, or they are going to court as well for mandamus,” Nelson told the meeting.
A mandamus order, if granted, would legally compel the Council, as a statutory body, to perform what an applicant would argue is its duty, specifically, to clear vending from the hospital’s surroundings.
The legal threat lands in the middle of City Hall’s wider struggle with vending in Georgetown, a long-running issue that routinely triggers friction between municipal officials, vendors, businesses, and public institutions. The area around the hospital has been a particular flashpoint, with recurring concerns over public health risks, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion, and access to critical services.
Faced with the three-day demand and the possibility of court action, the Mayor and Councillors agreed that the matter requires further discussion before any final move is made. A follow-up meeting has been scheduled for Monday as City Hall continues deliberations on enforcement options, legal obligations, and possible relocation pathways.
For now, the issue remains on the table, with the Council indicating it intends to engage stakeholders as it weighs public safety and order against the economic reality for vendors trying to survive in the capital.
