FAYETTEVILLE — Don’t expect major changes Saturday when the Fayetteville Farmers’ Market opens for another year on the downtown square.
As many as 70 vendors will sell crafts, flowers and fresh vegetables for the next eight months. Mountain Street and East Avenue will remain closed to traffic, and drivers will still be able to access Center Street and Block Avenue.
A potential change City Council members will consider in coming weeks is whether to permanently reserve parking spaces on the south end of Mountain Street, in front of Tiny Tim’s Pizza, for six market vendors.
At A Glance
Fayetteville Farmers’ Market
The Fayetteville Farmers’ Market will be open this year on the downtown square Saturday through Nov. 23. Hours are 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. A market is also open on land south of the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks. Hours are 7 a.m. to noon Saturday; 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday; and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Source: Fayetteville Farmers’ Market
Vendors and nonprofit groups, such as Feed Fayetteville, shared the south end of Mountain Street last year, according to Lori Boatright, market manager. Politicians, community activists and musicians have typically been allowed to post up around the square so long as they don’t block sidewalks or otherwise impede shoppers.
Boatright identified several spaces on the square that could be made available for community organizations if Mountain Street is reserved for vendors. Organizations could also set up booths and tables in the Town Center plaza.
Along with the Mountain Street issue, aldermen also considered requiring a city permit for amplified music and allowing market operators to set their own rates and fees.
Boatright said the policy changes would clean up a decades-old ordinance regulating the market.
“It’s letting us do what we’ve already been doing,” she said.
Aldermen showed no concern Tuesday with the music and rates and fees provisions. It was the Mountain Street change that consumed most of the council discussion.
Aldermen voted 6-1 to have the Ordinance Review Committee take a closer look at the policies. In the interim, vendors will be allowed to occupy spaces on the south end of Mountain Street, said Kit Williams, city attorney.
The aldermen who voted in favor of studying the market ordinance gave different reasons Tuesday.
Mark Kinion, Ward 2 alderman, has said he wants to continue to promote freedom of expression by reserving space for nonprofit groups, politicians and advocacy groups.
Rhonda Adams, Ward 4 alderwoman said the council should get more input from business owners on the square before plowing forward with a policy change.
John Schmuecker, who owns Tim’s Pizza, said before Tuesday’s meeting he’s not in favor of closing Mountain Street or blocking parking spots for customers in front of his business.
“Unless they can park right up front, they won’t bother,” Schmuecker said. “I lose money every time the market’s here.”
At A Glance
Council Action
Fayetteville’s City Council met Tuesday and approved:
-A $20,000 month-to-month contract with CI2 Aviation to operate the Fayetteville Executive Airport’s air traffic control tower after the FAA’s decision to cease operations
-A $91,000 contract with Ar-Rahim Metal Trading of Dallas to disassemble and scrap the former Tyson Mexican Original building at Huntsville and Happy Hollow roads
-A rezoning request from Haas Hall Academy for land at Gregg Avenue and Van Asche Drive
-Large-scale plans for a Casey’s General Store at Wedington and Futrall drives.
Source: Staff Report
Matthew Petty, Ward 2 alderman, who sponsored the policy revisions and was the sole council member to vote against sending the proposal to the Ordinance Review Committee, said city officials should relinquish control over the market and let the nonprofit organization grow on its own.
“The idea that we should pick this apart because the council can make it better I think is stretching it,” Petty said. “Don’t we have more important things to deliberate about?”
Marcy Benham with Ozark Slow Food said there aren’t enough spaces on the square for vendors who would like to sell at the market.
Jim Morgan, a vendor who sells lamb at the market, encouraged aldermen to support a policy setting specific areas where politicians and advocacy groups can mingle with shoppers.
“We all have been next to people promoting certain views that even drive customers away,” Morgan said. “We need the free speech, but we need a way to regulate how this happens.”
Williams said following Tuesday’s meeting the Ordinance Review Committee will likely meet in the next two weeks before ordinance changes appear again on the council’s April 16 agenda.