Rogers throws support to new farmers market

Main Street Rogers officials said Wednesday that they will open a new farmers market in the spring, intending to replace a nonprofit market that has been operating in the city since 1985.

Officials with the existing market said that city officials are trying to push them out, and they were blindsided by the announcement.

Jessica Rush, Main Street Rogers executive director, said the new market will operate through a contract with the city. City support will help expand the farmers market, she said.

"There are grant and education programs that we can offer these farmers by transferring the market," Rush said.

Kimberly Scott, manager of the Rogers Farmers Market, said she was notified about the changes Monday night.

"I was told that Oct. 31 will be our last day," Scott said. "From then on, they will actively start working on the 2016 market, and we will not have a place downtown."

The City Council's Transportation Committee approves whether to shut down city-owned property for event organizers. The farmers market has been operating in a city-owned parking lot near Frisco Park.

Mayor Greg Hines said the nonprofit market can still request a parking lot closure for the event, but he would recommend that the committee not approve it.

"They are not going to be the market that the city allows public property for them to operate on," Hines said. "They haven't been performing to the standard that the citizens prefer. We have not seen any movement to enhance their standards."

Scott has managed the market for 14 years and has grown the number of vendors, she said. The market has 90 paid members currently, she said.

"I am pretty upset about this," Scott said. "It is a little heartbreaking, and I do take it personally."

Jack Lewis has sold wooden furniture at the market for about three months.

"I think the city should have given us a little more notice," Lewis said. "They didn't give us any notice at all. I don't think the city will get much response as far as vendors."

Recent studies have shown that many residents want a better farmers market, Hines said. This includes a Downtown Revitalization Plan completed by Gateway Planning, a Texas company, he said.

"There is a clear message from people who want a farmers market that reaches a higher standard," Hines said. "That is what began our conversation. It makes sense for the city to work with Main Street because we already have a working relationship with them."

Residents often assume the market is run by the city because it sits on public property, Hines said.

The city will provide startup costs for the market to be run by Main Street, Hines said. The amount has not been determined. The city provides $60,000 to Main Street annually for operating costs.

Hannah Cicioni, Main Street board member, said she led a task force that researched how to expand the market. It has looked at ways that local farmers markets have grown along with national markets, she said.

"Farmers markets play such a key pivotal role," Cicioni said. "It is not just a place for people to buy produce,it is a place for people to come and feel connected to downtown."

Metro on 10/02/2015

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