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Home My WebLink AboutREDvarious9presentationsFrom :M Darnell[SMTP :MLLENRAD9@ATT .NET] RED FILESent:Tuesday, February 02, 2010 2 :04 :38 P M To :Council, SloCity MEETING AGENDA Subject :Farmers DATE / /(a ITEM #Pi1e5elorm7o,J.s Auto forwarded by a Rul e Dear Council Members ; 1.I am deeply disappointed to read in The Tribune tha tthe SLO Downtown Association has terminated thei rrelationship with The San Luis Obispo Farmers Marke tAssociation. I can't imagine SLO Farmer's Marke twithout the FARMERS ! 2.The 27 year relationship between the Farmers Marke tAssoc and SLO Downtown Association appears to hav ebeen terminated in a disrespectful and abrupt manner ,which I believe is harmful to the community . I woul dlike to hear they are sitting at the table to restore thei rrelationship. 3.The farmers feel as though they have been treate dunfairly and think there is a solution to the problem —Ibelieve they should be given the opportunity to sit at th etable and work with the Downtown Association toward sa solution . Respectfully , M D From :MaryAnn Riley[SMTP :MARYANN .RILEY@GMAIL .COM ] Sent :Tuesday, February 02, 2010 2 :15 :15 P MTo:Council, SloCity Subject :Farmers Market & Downtown Assoc . Auto forwarded by a Rule -t'COUNCIL 2-ODD DI RCrete)6t1'I ntGa.C N DI REf:I"AfAOfssrcoYnise-'FIRE CHIE FC 'ATTORNEY C'F'W DI RL CLERK/ORIG OLICE CH F7 DEPT HEADS R DI Rt6LbIM16urJhfA 01 RnotesCcir ~~C~TtiMC 2 N~Y2fl Co py km.4A_ I would like to express my desire to continue to have a high quality Thursday Nigh t Farmers Market and that the foundation of this market be farm based goods . I believe the Downtown Association and Farmers Market Association (local farmers) are goo d organizations and I hope you can help direct them in a path to achieve these goals . Thank you for your assistance , Mary Ann Riley 805-547-1976 phon e 805-748-4335 cel l From :Bryce Halford[SMTP :BHALFORD@RECSOLAR .COM ] Sent :Tuesday, February 02, 2010 2 :16 :39 P M To :Council, SloCity Subject : Farmers Market Auto forwarded by a Rul e If you are going to terminate the Farmers as the lead in the Framer's market event , you need to give reason and allow the farmers and the citizens of San Luis b e heard . I believe you should reverse the termination and open negotiations t o accomplish a solution that is better for the people . Bryce Halford Design Engineering Manage r REC Solar, Inc . 775 Fiero Lane, Suite 20 0 San Luis Obispo, CA 9340 1 Office : (805) 547-262 5 Cell : (805) 458-779 5 Fax : (805) 528-970 1 Toll Free : (888) OK-SOLA R From :maggie kiersch[SMTP :M_KIERSCH@YAHOO .COM] Sent :Tuesday, February 02, 2010 2 :23 :21 P M To :Council, SloCity Subject :Thursday Farmers' Marke t Auto forwarded by a Rul e Thursday night Farmers' Market has been a welcome addition to our community for th e past 27 years . The reason these farmers are not being treated fairly after all the years o f service to those of us living here is a mystery to us . Please listen to their concerns an d treat them fairly just as you would want to be treated . Dr . and Mrs . T . A . Kiersch From : Russell Hodin[SMTP :HODIN_INK@SBCGLOBAL .NET] Sent :Tuesday, February 02, 2010 2 :28 :59 P M To :Council, SloCity Subject :Support the Farmers' Market Assn . Auto forwarded by a Rul e t o City Council Mayor Dave Romero; Vice Mayor Andrew Carter ; Council members Jan Howell Marx, Joh n Ashbaugh & Allen Settl e City of San Luis Obisp o 990 Palm Stree t San Luis Obisp o 2 February, 201 0 re : Downtown Association action to co-opt the management of certified farmers a t Thursday Night activities Dear Mayor and Council , I am writing in support of the San Luis Obispo County Farmers 'Market Association . The recent underhanded and aggressive action by the San Luis Obispo Downtown Associatio n begs the question — why would they want to pursue an action which would result in an overall decrease in the effectiveness and resources of the farmers' own organization? What exactly woul d be gained? My sense that this action is capricious and retaliatory in nature has not been alleviate d by official statements of the Downtown Association . In fact, it has been confirmed . What I would like to see happen is : —a revocation of the Downtown Association 's action to disempower the SLO County Farmers ' Market Associatio n — a formal apology to the Farmers' Market Associatio n —a commitment by the Downtown Association to support local produce sales at Thursday Nigh t — an abandonment of the Downtown Association plans to move the farmer's stalls to Morro St . —a commitment by the Downtown association to dialog with all affected parties when developin g policy & changes to Thursday Night activitie s — a commitment by the Farmers' Market Association to provide representation to the Thursda y Night committee in a manner sober and constructive to dialo g finally, and most critically , —a public re-affirmation by the SLO City Council that the Downtown Association's independen t status is subject to council reconsideration and revocation at any time . A cornerstone of the farmers'success is their dedication to self-governing . Truly, the success o f farmers' markets county-wide is due to their organization, the San Luis Obispo County Farmers ' Market Association . This county has a rich history of cooperative efforts created and maintaine d by our farming community . We all benefit, so why needlessly put these cooperative efforts a t risk? Let's commit to never again losing sight of the cooperative legacy of farmers and city as reflecte d in the success of Thursday Night Farmers' Market . Let's go forward together—energetic, open , honest, and creative ! Yours , Russell Hodin 1570 Hansen Lan e San Luis Obispo CA 9340 1 From : Tom Swem[SMTP :TCS@RPISLO .COM ] Sent : Tuesday,February 02, 2010 2 :45 :25 P M To : Council, SloCity Subject : Farmers Market discussio n Auto forwarded by a Rul e Mayor and Council Members , I thought it would be good to give you my prospective as to the current discussion s surrounding the Downtown Association making a decision to begin management of the Farmer's Market component of our Thursday Night Promotions and Activities (TNP). Let me begin with the fact that this was a business decision on our part brought on by the lack of communication an d participation by the management of the Farmer's Market Association (not the Farmers themselves). In business in general, and SLO specifically, relationships, between business associates , are essential . That relationship has been strained for some time between the FMA (director) an d the DA . We found out that their BOD didn't even know of a problem and we also learned tha t they didn't require their Farmers to have insurance for the Thursday night market . Late last yea r the FMA resigned from the DA committee and seemed disinterested in continuing reasonabl e conversation or relationship . With that in mind as well as the two issues most specific to this discussion, those being ; 1 ) we had no current contract with the FMA and 2) the DA being an expert at holding events an d promoting and operating all the Thursday Night Promotions and Activities, the door was open fo r us to discuss having all of the TNP under one management umbrella . It seemed a rather straight forward business decision to move forward and incorporate th e Farmers into our, already operating, business plan . We found we could do that without affectin g any of the individual Farmers (NO increase in fees), in fact, we see many opportunities to mak e this section of Higuera even better in the coming months . The only issue here is with the management group change and they seem to have a lot o f money to attempt to sway public opinion . Interesting .... I ask that all of you allow the DA to continue our professional operation of all the TN P activities and rally around the fact that we always have had the best interests of Downtown Sa n Luis Obispo with everything we've done . The exciting and very well known Thursday Night s here in Downtown San Luis Obispo speak for themselves . Thank you for your time and I hope to see you this evening . Also, please feel free to give me a call should you wish to further discuss this . A longtime member, and former President (2001), of the Downtown Association Board o f Directors, Tom Swem, CCI M DRE Lic# 0057158 0 Real Property Investments 570 Marsh Stree t San Luis Obispo, CA 9340 1 1-805-544-442 2 1-800-549-442 2 Commercial Investment Sales and Leasing ...34 years in SLO Real Estate From : Mark Adams[SMTP :MARKADAMS12@GMAIL .COM ] Sent :Tuesday, February 02, 2010 3 :31 :42 P M To :Council, SloCit y Subject : farmers marke t Auto forwarded by a Rul e Please do not destroy or move farmers market . My family and out of town friends hav e enjoyed the farmers market for 23 years . I want to remind the city council I pay taxes o n the street and side walks . Look what happened when we lost control of our polic e department; they gave themselves a 22% raise . I want the city council to cancel th e contract with the downtown association and let the citizens who own the streets an d sidewalks have control of our town . If the downtown association prevails I will no longe r visit the downtown area . CHANGE THE CONTRACT AND LET THE CITIZEN S HAVE THEIR COMMUNITY BACK . I really wonder how the council people represent these days ; it's not the citizens whic h pay the majority of taxes and city employee's salaries . Mark Adam s From : Raquel Elias[SMTP :1623ELIAS@SBCGLOBAL .NET ] Sent : Tuesday, February 02, 2010 4 :02 :50 PM To : Council, SloCit y Subject : Farmers Marke t Auto forwarded by a Rul e Hello , As a member of this community (Avila Beach and San Luis Obispo) sinc e 1971, I have seen many changes to the town . I urge you to let the loca l farmers run the Farmers Market . Don't turn the Thursday nigh t activities into a giant bar scene . Keep it family friendly with th e farmers front and center ! Thank you , Raquel Elias CALIFORNIA WOMEN for AGRICULTUR E February 2, 201 0 Honorable City Council member s City of San Luis Obisp o 990 Palm Stree t San Luis Obispo, CA 9340 1 Sent Via Email Only Elaina Cano, City Clerk fo r Mayor Dave Romero Vice Mayor, Andrew Carte r Council Member Allen Settl e Council Member Jan Howell Marx Council Member John Ashbaug h RE :Management of Thursday Night Farmers' Market Dear City Council members : The San Luis Obispo County Chapter of the California Women for Agricultur e ("CWA")'appreciates this opportunity to present to you our position and comments, as set fort h below, for your consideration when determining the future management of the farmers' marke t component of Thursday Night Promotions ("TNP"). CWA is an organization dedicated to the economic stability and viability of productio n agriculture and agri-tourism in San Luis Obispo County . CWA believes that one essentia l component to preserve the economic viability of agriculture is consumer awareness an d education . Accordingly, CWA encourages consumer based educational programs, includin g farmers' markets, to enhance consumer's understanding of agriculture . CWA supports farmers ' markets because it puts a "face with a farmer," which allows consumers to (1) learn more abou t how their food is grown ; (2) where it comes from ; and (3) make the connection that there is a n actual person behind the fresh and healthy produce it purchases . CWA is concerned tha t management of the farmers' market component of TNP, by a non-farmer group, may reduc e farmer participation and damage the overall quality and success of Farmers' Market . To that end , CWA encourages you to carefully consider the unintended consequences that this change ma y have on the farmers who participate in the Farmers' Market, and further urges you to ensure tha t (1) the farmers are well represented on the TNP committee ; (2) space fees will not increase ; (3 ) t CWA is a non-partisan, non-sectarian, non-profit, all volunteer organization committed to improving the qualit y and sustainability of the agriculture industry representing . space size will not decrease ; and (4) space assignments will remain advantageous for all produce , flower, and agriculturally related vendors. CWA further encourages the City to support the original purpose and intent of Certifie d Farmers' Markets ; to allow farmers to sell directly to the consumer . The farmers' marke t experience provides a great social and economic benefit to farmers, consumers, and th e community . CWA hopes that this tradition will be preserved and continue in downtown San Lui s Obispo . Very Truly Yours , Krista McNinch Kodl SLO County CWA, President