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HomeMy WebLinkAboutREDvarious3farmersRECEIVE D MAY 18 2010 SLO CITY CLER K From : Christine Mulholland[SMTP :CDEV@THEGRID .NET ] Sent : Tuesday, May 18, 2010 3 :08 :12 P M To : Council, SloCity Subject : farmers marke t Auto forwarded by a Rul e Dear Mr . Mayor and Council Members , I am astounded that this issue has gone on as long as it has, and i s now back to you for further involvement . The D . A . has been a good partner with the City for many years . No other entity has the experience or track record to run the TNP an d other events that have been so positive for our town . Much of the current animosity appears to be coming from a lack of goo d communication . Certainly, the D . A . has always seen the farmer s (different form the Farmers Market Assoc .) as an integral part of th e Thursday night event, so I am saddened that it is under question re : keeping the farmers . And the farmers seem quite happy with the newl y opened avenue for communication with the D . A ., according to the surve y questions in the staff report . If the City Council must make a decision today, I urge you to vote fo r the first option staff has given you . The City has too much on it s plate to try to take over the work the D .A . provides, in accordanc e with your contract . Let the two boards work this out . Continue t o contract with the D .A . And certainly, the FMA must come back to th e TNP committee so that there is a clear avenue for communication in th e future, if it is the organization which ultimately ends up representin g the farmers . One more thought : Please realize that many of the farmers come fro m the San Joaquin Valley and are NOT LOCAL! More local farmers woul d like the opportunity to sell on Thursday nights . I hope tha t eventually, we will actually have more LOCAL food available fo r purchase from the market . Sincerely,RED FILE /w 2P 1 /L 4 Christine Mulholland MEETING AGENDA -r-COUNCIL aCDD DI R 12-.V M aFIN DI R544-6618 DATE4J6/o ITEM # / El-AeAO c-tri,V IYFIRECHIEF 0-ATTORNEY [TRW DI R E 'CLERK/ORIC 9-POLICE CH F r7 D~T,HEADS d'WEG DI R From :Brent Vanderhoof[SMTP :BRENT@DOWNTOWNSLO .COM]'I".FLO EI-U `CIL DI F Sent :Tuesday,May 18, 2010 12 :45 :03 PM f -HR bi R To :Council, SloCity -t Yrii'c ---- CoLtAxtL_ Subject :SLO Downtown Association --GM!fvv Auto forwarded by a Rule C°f-(deK, Mayor Romero & Members of City Council , I've always had a strong connection to Downtown SLO ever since my first visi t in 1996 . I grew up in a very small town in Wisconsin with a quaint, vibran t Downtown ;I felt like it was an extension of my backyard where I went to the city center park to play and hang-out with friends . However, with the openin g of a K-mart on the edge of town in 1988, the Downtown that I cherished wa s decimated ; within six months more than half of the stores went out of business , some still vacant today . Now that I live in the best place ever—with a quaint , slightly larger Downtown—I feel like I did while growing up . As some of you know, I live in the Downtown core on Garden Street ; Downtown i s my backyard—where I live, work and play . I often find myself working on my tim e off, visiting with merchants and making notes of things that need attentio n while walking to the movies or to one of my favorite restaurants . This is onl y the second time in my life that I can truly say "I Love My Job!" I love wha t the Downtown Association does, I love why we do what we do and I lov e interacting with the membership (even though it can be challenging at times).I also sense this commitment from the Board of Directors and fellow staf f members ; we volunteer much of our time and do everything we do to make Downtow n a great place for businesses to thrive, while giving visitors and the communit y somewhere to cherish, do business and have fun . I thank you for your time an d ask for your continued trust and support to the Downtown Association so that w e may continue working to keep Downtown vibrant, active and simply the best . With best regards , Bren t Brent O . Vanderhoo f Administrative Assistant SLO Downtown Association brent@downtownslo .com www .downtownslo .com Phone # 805-541-028 6 FAX# 805-781-264 7 From : Bathe, Douglas MAJ RES USAR USARC[SMTP :DOUGLAS .BATHE@US .ARMY .MIL ] Sent : Tuesday, May 18, 2010 12 :24 :51 PM To : Council, SloCit y Subject : Farmers Marke t Auto forwarded by a Rul e City Council , As a grower and seller I'm wondering when and why the Farmers Marke t Management has not been put back in place as before . Why is th e Downtown Assoc . dragging their feet on this, will we be given the fact s this time and not fluff . Thank you for your time and I will see you a t 4pm . Dou g Major, Douglas . Bath e Agricultural Officer, USA R You only have the rights you are willing to fight for . From :Brett Cross[SMTP :BRETTCROSS@YAHOO .COM ] Sent :Tuesday, May 18, 2010 2 :22 :49 P M To :Council, SloCit y Subject :Downtown Farmers Market/ Downtown Association . Auto forwarded by a Rule I'm pretty sure the City pays for all setup and breakdown of the Farmer s Market . Does the Downtown Association reimburse the City for any of the additonal expenses that are associated with the event- additional policing , portable restrooms, barricades, trash, etc .?. I believe it would be in the community's best interest, especially financially , to have the City run the Farmers Market . According to the staff report 5 % of the total sales which is around $20-$30 k annually (?) is devoted to a market manager . One would think that the City already has personnel tha t can take over the role of the market manager . At a minimum the City should be reimbursed for the cost of providin g services for this event . Currently it appears that this event is all gain for th e Downtown Association and all cost to the City . Sincerely , Brett Cross