Portland City Councilor Kevin Donoghue wants to examine whether ice cream trucks are a community asset or noisy neighborhood distraction.

Donoghue, who represents the East End and Casco Bay islands of District 1, said he has heard complaints from some of his constituents and wants to know what other people think.

"Are ice cream trucks sacred like fresh apple pie and high school football or are they unwelcome nuisances we tolerate?" Donoghue asked today in an e-mail sent to "Friends of District One."

Donoghue said he wants to know whether city officials should confront the issue.

"Not wishing to be a Grinch, I tend to think of ice cream trucks as mere zoning violations – a business parcel rolling around a residential zone," Donoghue wrote. "Others write for concern about neighborhood noise and childhood obesity. What say you to this one?"