(Host) The City of Burlington and the local Farmers’ Market have not yet agreed on a lease – and location of the market – for the upcoming season.
The Farmers’ Market has long set up shop at City Hall Park from May through October. But Parks and Recreation director Mari Steinbach says the city is concerned about how much the market has grown… and its impact on the park.
(Steinbach) "We just simply don’t have the infrastructure developed to be able to talk well about expanding the market in that space. So we’d like to look outside of the confines of City Hall Park and talk about the streetscape and the sidewalkscape and all of that. Things that will grow the market."
(Host) But Chris Wagner, the manager of the Burlington Farmer’s Market, says the market has felt excluded from many of the discussions about the use and health of the park.
(Wagner)"We don’t have that working relationship with the city yet. You know I feel like we’ve kind of been squatting for years it City Hall Park and nobody’s really noticed, and we haven’t really been included in any of the plans. And now all of a sudden it’s kind of you know, the farmers’ market caused this, what can we do, and how should we react, and everything. When all along we’ve been saying, yes, we want to work with you."
(Host) Representatives from both the Farmers’ Market and the City are meeting Wednesday to discuss different possible scenarios.