No action taken on proposed farmer’s market at Scidmore Park Organizers from DDA to approve and submit revised work plan to city

By Robert Tomlinson
News Director

THREE RIVERS — The highly-anticipated question of if the City of Three Rivers could support a new farmer’s market at Scidmore Park will have to wait for another day.
The Three Rivers City Commission took no action Tuesday on an application from Three Rivers Downtown Development Authority board chair Charlie Wolgamood to launch the new market, as other organizers from the DDA acknowledged they may have jumped the gun with their initial application.
“I do think we did get a little bit ahead of ourselves and didn’t provide a workplan for you all to review to allay concerns or lay out what our objectives were,” Jason Ballew, a DDA board member and ad-hoc committee member for the proposed market, said during public comment on the item. “I think we owe that to you.”
Organizers of the proposed market, which is currently proposed to run on the last Sunday of each month during the summer from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the park’s pavilions, said they would work on getting a workplan proposal together and possible DDA approval before re-applying through the city. If all goes well and no issues are found with any new application that would cause an objection to go before the City Commission again, the market could potentially open by the end of May.
The lack of a decision Tuesday pushes a brief pause button on an idea that has been receiving plenty of community interest ever since it was brought up during public comment by Wolgamood at the April 7 commission meeting. Wolgamood told commissioners at that meeting his application was denied by the city, and asked the city commission to reconsider the denial.
“We’re not asking anything from the city, we just want the keys so we can use the bathroom,” Wolgamood said April 7. “So, I was a little bit disappointed with that.”
According to an April 14 memo by City Manager Joe Bippus to commissioners and included in the public board packet, there were a number of reasons cited as to why the initial request was denied. Chief among them was the lack of formal DDA board authorization, which meant it couldn’t be considered an authorized DDA activity, and the absence of a workplan with a budget, funding source, staffing responsibilities, and event logistics, which meant city staff could not assess feasibility or allocate resources.
Another reason cited was “duplication of existing community service,” referencing the Huss Project farmer’s market and its current presence in the city weekly on Saturdays during the summer, with no analysis presented in the application on additional demand or differentiation from the existing market. Staff capacity, prioritization, and alignment with current DDA priorities given the recent opening of the downtown amphitheater were also cited in the city denial.
There has also been some discussion online about the viability of a second market in town, with some voicing opposition and hesitancy to the new market given Huss’ presence in the city, while others have supported the idea. The Huss Project themselves also said they wish the organizers of the proposed market “all the best” as they work on their vision. During Tuesday’s meeting, there was a unanimous show of hands from the crowd in favor of the proposed market, with no dissenters.
There has not been a city-run farmer’s market since before the COVID-19 pandemic, when a farmer’s market was operated at Scidmore Park, the same spot proposed for the proposed monthly market. That market closed down due to the pandemic, with the Huss Project market starting up in earnest in 2020 and running ever since, becoming the primary recurring farmer’s market in the city.
DDA Executive Director Angie Metty opened Tuesday’s discussion by calling Bippus’ memo “accurate,” and that the idea of the proposed market wasn’t so much a farmer’s market as originally presented, but a “vendor-style market” with arts, goods, cottage foods, crafts, and food trucks.
“It’s meant to complement what already exists, not to compete with it,” Metty said. “This idea came from some very enthusiastic volunteers, which I truly appreciate, and they just got a little ahead of the process.”
Ballew said during his comment that he, Wolgamood and fellow co-organizer Jesse Oman had “several” conversations with the Huss Project and Rob Vander Giessen-Reitsma co- prior to submitting their application to the city to go over their vision for their market.
“After several conversations, I think he understood our goal. It wasn’t to compete with them, it was to provide a different day, a different time, a different demographic, another way to bring people downtown, whether you’re talking about the historic district or Three Rivers city, in general, bringing people downtown,” Ballew said.
Wolgamood then discussed the group’s plans briefly during his public comment, noting they had a work plan “verbally” but not down on paper, and thought they would get it approved by the city first before completing one, then run it through the DDA’s Promotions Committee. He reiterated something Ballew said earlier, that one of the big goals was to bring people downtown.
“I’ve gone over there [to Scidmore Park] the last few Sundays over the last month and a half, there’s a million people over there on the playground walking through, and most of those people I’ve not seen downtown or even at Huss,” Wolgamood said. “I think we can pull those people over.”
In all, he said, they have “capable” and “qualified” people in charge of the proposed operation.
Other public comments were mainly in favor of the new market, while one comment asked a number of questions about what vendor requirements would be.
During board discussion, logistical questions were the main issue brought up by commissioners, with little disagreement about whether or not the market should exist. First District Commissioner Pat Dane said her biggest objection was to having the proposed timeframe start during church hours on Sundays.
“If you want to do another market another day, why don’t you pick another day of the week. Why can’t it be on Wednesday? Why not Thursday? For a lot of people, Sunday is their only family day, their church day, go to church to be a family,” Dane said. “Everybody is losing the total aspect of what Sunday’s supposed to be, and we’re having this conflict with a farmer’s market when there’s other important things.”
Third District Commissioner Tony Stanfill countered, saying he’d be okay with Sundays because not everyone in town is religious.
“I don’t feel it’d be fair to base decisions based on religion. That’s not how we govern our country, and I certainly wouldn’t want to do it in our city that way either,” Stanfill said. “If Sunday doesn’t work, you don’t go.”
At-Large Commissioner Torrey Brown objected to Sundays for a different reason – the goal stated a couple of times by organizers to bring people to downtown, stating that “95 percent of downtown is closed” on Sundays. However, his biggest hang-up was with possibly approving a possible DDA activity before the DDA board had a chance to vote on it.
“We would be forcing a board to do something they haven’t had an opportunity to vote on, and we’re not allowed to do that with any board,” Brown said. “If they go through the proper channels, get DDA board approval, and it’s an official sanctioned DDA activity, then we can move forward. Without that, we can’t even move forward.”
Lucas Allen, another at-large commissioner, said he would be all for the proposed market once a plan is finalized.
“I’m all for it, I think the DDA, it should go back to them,” Allen said. “Quick, get a written plan, business plan, give it to us, I’ll vote for it, and we’ll move on.”
Mayor Angel Johnston said she “really wants to see this market happen,” and said she was a bit upset that the city “flatly” said no to the application without giving the opportunity to make corrections.
“I’d like a little less flat ‘No,’ and a little more, ‘Hey, could you flesh this out and bring this back,’” Johnston said.
However, Johnston later said she would be in favor of pausing to let the DDA put it through the “proper motions” for approval.
Wolgamood said the group will work on a work plan and submit it for approval to the DDA board. The earliest the DDA would be able to take up such a motion to approve a work plan would be at their next regular meeting on Thursday, May 7.
While there are still plenty of questions to answer in regards to the logistics of the plan, Johnston said she was optimistic that the plan will come to fruition in the end.
“It sounds like we could get this worked out,” Johnston said.
In other business…

• Commissioners approved the first reading of an amendment to the city’s massage establishment ordinance, updating much of what City Attorney TJ Reed called “old language” regarding the profession and licensing procedures. In addition, commissioners updated the hours restrictions to not allow such establishments to operate between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. after some debate on the matter. It will require a second reading at a separate meeting before adoption, and when adopted it would go into effect 21 days after approval.
• Commissioners held a first reading and set a public hearing for an ordinance amendment on recurrent special uses, which would make zoning procedures less restrictive for special uses of the same type at the same location, while still allowing for public input.
• Commissioners approved the third budget amendment of the fiscal year, which mainly covers items commissioners previously approved at past meetings.
  Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.