Farmers Market may get new management

Everyone loves the Tuesday night Farmers Market. Not everyone loves how it’s run. That may change.
The city council initiated a Request for Proposal process Wednesday night, a chance for new organizations to bid to replace the group that has been in place for 18 years.
The governing entity for the Sonoma Valley Market, managed by Hilda Swartz, is a five-person board of directors, currently chaired by Jim Cahoon. It has come under increased scrutiny after mounting complaints about murky application rules, the absence of an appeal process, a low proportion of “local” vendors and a secretive board of directors.
These concerns were specifically cited, after a lengthy meeting with vendors and market staff, in a report to the council by the Community Services and Environment Commission.
Councilor Steve Barbose said the market lacks “transparency, accountability and fairness. That’s a recurring theme, and where there’s smoke there’s usually fire. Changes need to be made.”
While councilors called for more local vendors and restaurants, Swartz said as a certified public market, she is governed by strict guidelines. “Every grower must have a certificate, that’s the number-one priority. Everything else is just an enhancement.”
Mayor Ken Brown bristled at the notion that the market’s own rules would supersede those of the city. “The City of Sonoma governs the Plaza – the market does not. Sonoma, and the Plaza in particular, is the attraction. Making it better is our job.”
The Tuesday night market is full, with a waiting list of applicants. Certified growers have priority placement, Swartz explained after the meeting, which leaves little space for other merchants. “They (the council) just don’t get it.”
Although her group can participate equally in the Request for Proposal process, the council’s decision came as shock. “We were blindsided,” she said.
During the public comments segment of the meeting, 17 people rose to speak. Opinion was nearly equally divided, with current vendors in support and spurned applicants calling for a change in procedure, if not management.
Category exclusivity, having only one flower seller, for example, is one point of division. The market enforces it, disqualifying many applicants. Several councilors said they would encourage the competition between vendors of like products.
Another prominent issue was the fact that Cahoon’s own restaurant, Cal-Italia, is the lone pizza vendor on Tuesday nights. “The perception of impropriety is a problem,” said Councilor August Sebastiani. “Transparency goes a long way.”
Sebastiani said he would favor disallowing any vendor to serve on the market board of directors. Other items on the council wish list for a revamped market: no generators; no junk food; a Sonoma-first protocol; and, as Brown suggested, the addition of local artists displaying their wares in an adjacent area.
The Community Services and Environment Commission was told that the market’s board meetings are not public, and it has no obligation to share the minutes of those meetings. The Request for Proposal will open up the financial elements of the market, which its board has been reluctant to provide.
“It’s high time the city got the true costs,” said Councilor Joanne Sanders. “We can’t afford to subsidize it. That’s a thing of the past.”
The market charges its vendors $5 – $45 per space per event, and collects 10 percent of gross receipts from vendors who are not growers.
The city receives a $100 per week rental fee, and waives its standard $400 maintenance charge each week.
Brown said there was an agreement the market would donate money to local nonprofits. Melinka Bates, public works director, said the last figure reported by the market was $2,000 in 2007.
The council directed city staff to develop a timeline for the Request for Proposal, which can be a lengthy process. If it can’t be completed in fair advance of the 2010 season, the current management would likely be retained, subject to council approval after an annual review.
“I need to hear from them that they are willing to make meaningful change,” Barbose said. Brown directed, “Open up the process. Do it right away.”