Commission Split on Farmers Market Booths; Attempts Compromise

After an emotionally-charged public discussion and debate, the fate of the Royal Oak Farmers Market's permanent booths was voted on and came down to a split decision Monday.

Commissioners voted 4-2 to extend permanent booth leases for one year at a rate comparable to what other vendors are paying. Notice will also be given that after one year the city will be retiring the permanent booths. (Mayor Pro-Tem David Poulton and Commissioner Peggy Goodwin were nays.)

The vote followed an earlier motion, presented by Poulton, to retain the permanent booths with a three-year lease dated May 1, 2014 through April 15, 2017 and increase the rate by $1,200 per year, according to City Clerk Melanie Halas' minutes. The motion - with a split 3-3 vote - failed. (Commissioners Sharlan Douglas and Mike Fournier and Mayor Jim Ellison voted no. Commissioner Kyle DuBuc was absent.)

The seven permanent booths have been fixtures at the farmers market for decades with supporters saying they had charm and secure a base of customers.

The administration's position is that the issue is simply "a business decision."

"Why should the owners of seven of these businesses be provided better facilities than all of the others? Why should these seven be allowed to keep their merchandise and equipment on site when no one else is allowed to do so and when doing so makes the facility less attractive for evening rentals and reduces our rental income? Finally, why should these seven, who receive far more than anyone else, be charged a lower rent than everyone else? It is fundamentally unfair and uncompetitive for the city to be subsidizing these seven businesses," wrote City Manager Don Johnson in a memo to the commission. "We believe this needs to stop."

The permanent booths generate far less rental income than temporary booths and they take up valuable floor space, which impacts the income the facility can earn from evening rentals, Johnson said.

During public comment, a dozen individuals, including representatives of the booths and a few of their customers, made passionate appeals to keep the booths in place. 

"I believe us being there is a gift to the City of Royal Oak," said Sharon Schmultz of Le Cocoa Bee Honey.

Schmultz has been bringing several varieties and sizes of honey, produced from her bees raised in Lake Orion, to the farmers market for about a decade. While she is not a lease holder of one of the permanent booths, she currently sells her wares using one-half of one of the retired spaces and has invested "a lot of money" to spruce the space up, she said.

"After 10 years, it's really discouraging to think that a body of people would just vote out the permanent booths," Schmultz said.

Tom Wurdock, a member of the Farmers Market Committee called the recommendation to remove the booths a "cruel attempt" to get rid of a group of vendors. The Farmers Market Committee supports retiring the booths through attrition.

As for the assertion that the booths interfere with event rentals, such as weddings and bar mitzvahs, Wurdock reminded the commission, "It's a farmers market...not a Roma Hall." 

The mayor indicated he was in support of changing the direction of the market and retiring the permanent booths, but also expressed his desire to have the leases extended beyond April 30 - the date on which current leases expire.

"Extending the lease for one more year...gives (the vendors) the opportunity to plan the future, whether they want to come in and work in a temporary vendor scenario or whether they want to change their direction and go someplace else," Ellison said. "I am a bit uncomfortable with short notice because they've established their business plans for the year and that included being in the market."

What do you think? Will you miss the permanent booths at the market? Or is it time for the market to take a new direction? Tell us in the comments.