Council sets timeline for Farmers’ Market review

A replacement for the Tuesday night Farmer’s Market management would be named by mid-January, according to a process set by the city council Wednesday night.

“It’s ambitious on staff’s part but we believe that it can be accomplished,” said Public Works Director Melinka Bates.
The council is not considering a change to the Friday morning Farmers’ market at Depot Park. The current management of both venues, Sonoma Valley Farmers’ Markets, is expected to compete for the Tuesday night contract.

City staff is drafting a Request for Proposal (RFP), the official document that describes the parameters of the job that is used to solicit bids. It will be discussed and revised by the Community Services and Environment Commission (CSEC), a public meeting on November 16.

Ratified at that level, the PDF will then be considered at a special city council meeting on November 23. The timeline calls for the PDF to be issued later that week, with proposals due by December 21.

Finalists would be interviewed in mid-January. The city council may form a sub-committee to augment the search by the CSEC.

The city council would award the contract on January 20, giving the standard lead-time to prepare for the first Tuesday night market of 2010, on April 7.