Visceral reactions from vendors two weeks ago over the preliminary work of a Farmers’ Market study group was premature, said Chestertown Mayor Margo Bailey, who apologized to volunteers of the group several times during last night’s council meeting.
“I want to apologize to the [study group], who met and worked hard,” Bailey said. “There must have been a misunderstanding. Had I known the topic of the conversation at the last meeting, I would have asked them to hold off.”
Bailey said she received a copy of a Farmers’ Market survey and the half complete report underway by the study group–after the council meeting on March 18–where the market’s manager, Owen McCoy, mostly rejected the group’s work, and flower vendor Don Biggar, said the work of the group should “go down in a ball of flames.”
“I feel badly for the volunteers, because people who volunteer for this town should be a treasured commodity,” Bailey said. “They should not have their reputations trashed by anyone.”
Bailey said she read the survey and found nothing “offensive” to the vendors.
“As a matter of fact, I found it to be quite valuable for the people who were on the ground and work there every week,” she said. “I found this to be a very helpful questionnaire. Unless you find out the opinion of the people who are participating, you can’t do a really good job of forming a report.”
She said she was discouraged to find out that vendors threw the surveys in the trash right in front of Dave Wheelan, head of the study group that will submit a final report in the coming weeks.
“There could have been some very valuable information we could use,” Bailey said.
Bailey said when she read the incomplete report she “again couldn’t find anything offensive or inflammatory…I found it to be very general.”
She read from the report the purpose of the study.
“It is important to note that this study was not undertaken in the belief that the current market is broken in some way,” Bailey read from the report.
“What they are hoping, in order to prepare for the next decade, in the best of the market, is to review the market practices to ensure that [we are] addressing the needs of the community.” Bailey said. “That is all they were talking about in this report. They weren’t talking about taking people away from the market.”
Bailey reiterated that the final recommendations in the report was for the council to decide and that criticisms should reserved for when the report is complete.
Bailey said the competition for farmers’ markets was going to get “fiercer as people see the success of our market. Other towns now want to expand their markets, and we have to make sure that we remain the best because we have been the best, and we don’t want to lose that wonderful edge.”
Councilman Marty Stetson took issue with the Spy Editor David Wheelan and accused him and the study group of trying to take over the Farmers’ Market, which Bailey flatly rejected.
The exchange takes place at 4:45 into the video. The Spy chose not to print any copy about the exchange to eliminate accusations of bias in the reporting.
Keith Thompson says
Hmmm…shouldn’t the apology be directed at the vendors and not at the volunteers? The vendors have the option of going somewhere else (Millington perhaps?)
Stu Cawley says
And what should the apology be FOR, Keith? Must admit I’m more than a bit baffled by the speed, strength, & source of the reaction. My understanding is that the survey was conducted not as an effort to “take over” the Farmers’ Mkt but as a means to gather data & determine if there might be ways to improve it further. By any measure it’s a wonderfully successful farmers’ mkt. Why not try to maintain & strengthen it?
If you’re worried about current vendors fleeing because of the “insult,” consider the fact that are probably plenty of others on the waiting list (disclosure: I’m one).
Kevin Shertz says
Stu, old buddy,
It’s apparent that Chestertown is in the process of a bloodletting.
Quick, fetch the leeches!
Keith Thompson says
Stu…two simple reasons.
#1. If the concern is volunteers getting their reputations trashed as the mayor suggests, then volunteers should not be placed in roles of determining town policy; you have elected leaders for that.
#2. Which brings me to town policy…why is it necessary for the town to run the Farmer’s Market? Shouldn’t the decisions be made by the people already running it, like Owen McCoy? Need I remind you that it was town policy on busking at the market that led to letters from the ACLU and Rutherford Institute last year.
Kevin Shertz says
Keith, the park is Town property, so they have to be involved/manage it in some fashion. Seems to me that perhaps the Market has evolved/grown from the original management structure that was in place (Mayor Bailey used to handle that) but perhaps that structure needs to be re-vamped to accommodate the new reality that the Farmer’s Market is insanely successful but also faces competition from other Farmer’s Markets in the area.
Were I a farmer/craftsperson, and felt like I was dealing with too much B.S., I’d be more than willing to entertain the idea of de-camping to Millington or elsewhere to sell my goods so long as I felt there was a customer base to make it worth my while.
My understanding is that different segments of the market are “managed” by different groups and there is historically bad blood between some of the personalities involved. As I’ve said in earlier posts, the phrase “territorial pissings” comes to mind.
Without implying any bias whatsoever on this issue — honestly, I don’t give a crap about politics in C’town — I want to give a “shout out” to Owen McCoy — he’s a good man, and does a great job for the Farmer’s Market. Dude knows his stuff.
I hope a reasonable balance can be made between all parties involved.
Keith Thompson says
Kevin writes…”My understanding is that different segments of the market are “managed” by different groups and there is historically bad blood between some of the personalities involved. As I’ve said in earlier posts, the phrase “territorial pissings” comes to mind.”
Bingo, and it’s precisely those “territorial pissings” that led to the letters from the ACLU and the Rutherford Institute as it was the town who placed restrictions on musician’s rights to perform and one of the reasons stated to me (by a town official) was because of a previous conflict the town had with the group who was inviting the musicians to play. I understand that the town has some oversight on activity at the Farmer’s market due to the fact that the market is on town property, however (as pointed out to me by a lawyer from the Rutherford Institute) the fact that the town runs the Farmer’s Market makes the market a public gathering and therefore the town is extremely limited on who or what they can prevent from going on at the market.
I can’t really ccomment about the territorial pissings among some of the personalities involved in the Farmer’s Market, but I do know that it was a case of the town arbitrarily taking sides in one of these territorial pissings that I got caught up in the middle of.
Donald Biggar says
Yes Mr. Cawley, the survey was conducted as an effort to take over the Farmers Market. In the study groups report, page 7, “Primary Recommendations”, section 3 paragraph 1, I quote; “Finally, and most importantly, there is unanimous consensus (among the study group members) that The Market governance should transition from the town managers office to the Main Street Historic Chestertown 501(c)3 non-profit.” There is some homework to be done there if you would care to pursue it. Such as, who in that “non-profit” (or who’s families or businesses) has the most to gain by wresting governing control away from the town council? The words “most importantly” and “unanimous consensus” in that statement concern me most. That is their single most important finding.
Not what can be done to improve on the customers experience, or how to insure we maintain the high level of quality of goods, or new ways to manage the myriad of issues that inevitably surface in the course of a season. The single most important finding this study group has to offer is to transition the governance of the market away from the town. A town who’s direction, and thoughtful decision making has helped create the #1 Farmers Market in MD. Not without the participation of some of the most caring vendors I have ever met.
I have vended at many markets surrounding Chestertown, and I can tell you with some authority it is #1 because the vendors here, myself included, care deeply about their community, and the quality of the goods we provide. It goes beyond just making a sale here in my home county. I know these customers personally. I’ve provided services for their weddings, and their funerals. They’re my friends and neighbors.
So when you state that you are “baffled by the speed of our reaction”, it is because we care. We care so much in fact, that many of us are out in the fields in the middle of the summer trying to raise a crop that we hope you will find good enough to put on your table. And if you do find it good enough, it allows us to put food on our tables in the middle of the winter.
You state you are baffled by the strength of our reaction? Just how would you expect someone to react who has been working hard to do the right thing for decades, or generations and then in a matter of months be told they could be, or will be put out of business by a small group of individuals with no vested interest? That is what this study group recommends, taking the governance of the market away from the town. Away from the council, where the people, citizens, customers, and vendors all have a voice. Yes, read the thing for what it is. Read it carefully. A small group of individuals would like to have the authority to determine what you buy, when where and from whom.
You are baffled by the source of the reaction? Who’s reaction? The farmers? I would sincerely love to have you come to the market every Saturday, all year long. I believe you personally care about it in some way, you care enough to let your voice be heard here. Some of us take this very seriously. THE Chestertown Farmers Market vendors are the source of the reaction, to answer your question.
Not a single vendor threw the original questionnaire in the trash in front of Dave Wheelan. He didn’t hand them out. I’ve never seen him at the market. We were never told to what end our answers would be used, or who was asking the questions. Some of said questions involve the financial side of things. I don’t blame anyone who chooses not to disclose that kind of information.
So they got most of them back, they got some answers. Question #4. “At present the market is structured by the Town of Chestertown. However, there are numerous other models of governance. Which models do you favor?” 1. Continued governance by the Town of Chestertown (14 votes) 2. Governance by a volunteer organization reporting to the town (0 votes).
They compared our market to 9 other markets, by using 18 comparison questions of available services. Over 30% of the answers regarding the services available at our market were answered incorrectly. The recommendations of this report, therefore are immediately called into question. How can you make recommendations based on incorrect information?
That is why I stated “this thing needs to go down in a ball of flames.” How, and by whom the market is managed should stay within the context of the entire town council. Bill and Owen, Mayor Bailey, and the town council have done a fine job steering this thing. Just my small opinion. An opinion I share with the majority of 55,000 people who voted it one of the top 5 Farmers Markets in the country. I think we should try another survey. One that has questions and input from all of the vendors. And this time everyone will know what’s at stake when they answer the questions.
There are some people on this study group who made some really thoughtful suggestions. I was the first one to point that out in the first meeting. Yes, there are always ways to improve, and keeping an open mind to it is one of the most important things a person can do. But you have to have all your facts straight if you’re going to come to a logical conclusion. Volunteering to try and help is a highly commendable act, and should be lauded. The good people who worked hard to try and make a reasonable presentation of the data they collected truly thought they were doing the right thing. It’s just that the final numbers didn’t add up. It also doesn’t add up that the overwhelming majority of the vendors would like this whole thing to just go away, but somehow we owe Mr. Wheelan, and the members of the study group an apology. It has already put a bad taste in our mouths, and a lot of negative words are being spoken out loud on Saturday mornings. Ultimately, that is not a healthy environment for the market, or business.
So if anyone reading this is a customer of the market, and maybe has an opinion on this matter, I urge you to attend the Town Council meetings and keep up with what’s being said, and decided upon by your elected officials, regarding your Farmers Market.
Stu Cawley says
Donald, in rereading my brief comment, I realize that it does come across as if I’ve chosen “sides” & have an axe to grind. I assure you I don’t & haven’t. What I intended to convey — but failed to — w/ the first part of my comment was that there seemed to be far more to the story than I had yet seen in either the KC News or in the Spy, thus I couldn’t understand the reaction. I hadn’t attended either of the two Town Council mtgs, seen the footage from same yet, or perused a copy of the survey in question. My closing statement (that there are probably plenty of local vendors eager for a chance to sell at the successful C-town Farmers’ Mkt) was simply a reaction to Keith’s seemingly hyperbolic fear that all the current vendors would flee for greener pastures, which doesn’t strike me as particularly likely.
I received a call from Owen this AM, I suspect chiefly because in my earlier comment I stated that I was a would-be vendor who’d love to be in the Farmers’ Mkt. I should have specified that what I’d sought & was turned down for was a spot in the arts/crafts section (which I understood, as I know space is ltd & Beve explained they already had vendors w/ what she saw as similar products). While I had Owen on the phone, I asked if he’d mind doing his best to fill in the many gaps in my understanding of the situation, which he graciously did, sharing his perspective w/ me, & we had a pleasant & informative conversation. Until that time I’d been entirely unaware of any suggestions to shift control of the mkt away from the Town. I confess I don’t know enough about the pros & cons of that to offer any kind of informed opinion, but if that is in fact one of the primary recommendations of the mkt study group, I can see where you & many of the other vendors would be concerned.
As Kevin pointed out, the Town does need to have some authority over & input into the running of the mkt, &, given what a terrific addition to the life of our town & county the mkt is & has been for many years, Owen & the other vendors deserve to have a large say in how things are run. That said though, it does seem IMO that there have been incidents in the past year that point to both a lack of clearly defined guidelines as to what can & cannot be sold in the mkt (& thus WHO can & cannot sell there [not to mention what can & cannot be performed there]) & no clear mechanisms for addressing questions regarding those guidelines. If that is the case (& it’s entirely possible I’m uninformed; please feel free to set me straight if that’s the case), those shortcomings can lead to a perception of arbitrariness & unfairness in the administration of the mkt.
I have no doubts about the commitment of you & the other vendors to the quality of your goods, to the mkt, to the town, & to your customers. Until recently, I haven’t been able to attend the C-town Farmers’ Mkt because I was working for a local business & selling our handmade, high-quality goods at the Easton Farmers’ Mkt for the past two seasons, most saturdays on 4-5 hrs sleep, some days on none, after putting in 8-16 hrs making our products to sell. I am well aware — & appreciative — of the dedication you & the other vendors have to your businesses & community & of the special relationships you develop w/ customers.
I wish nothing but the best for the mkt, its vendors, its customers, & the town. If there does exist some sort of power struggle over control of the mkt, I’d like to see it resolved quickly, respectfully, & successfully, w/ due regard given to all involved & who benefit from its continued mission.
Fletcher R. Hall says
ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF WHY NEW ELECTED LEADERSHIP IS NEEDED IN CHESTERTOWN.
There were some excellent constructive comments in the earlier article, including creating a pedestrian mall in an appropriate sector of downtown on Saturdays.
Fletcher R. Hall
Chestertown.
Carla Massoni says
Thank you to all the volunteers who gave time and energy to the Town they love. Your efforts are appreciated. We learn more when we listen to each other. But the boys will be boys – much more fun to imagine intrigue when perhaps there is none!?
Rhonda Gover says
Speaking as a vendor, I didn’t see the study group as the threat that some of the farmers did. I can see where the market could have better PR and advertising if the town didn’t have to do it for us. They have many other things to do. If we had a committee (which could be made up of the vendors) working for us the Market would be their first priority. I feel some people were just not getting the point Mr. Wheelan was trying to make at the meetings. Please don’t judge all of us by a few. All of the craft vendors filled out the surveys, I collected and turned them in the day they were handed out.
Fletcher R. Hall says
Having now watched the video of the town council meeting the following comments come to mind.
It is important to have government involvement as limited as possible. Please no ferderal grants with the accompanying red tape and regulations. A farmers market is a local affair and event. A non-profit group can be established to act as the oversight and administrative umbrella for the market. Better that than government “control”. Councilwomen Kuiper made several intelligent and informative remarks which do not appear in the article. Watch the video to see her remarks. Again, I reinterate that a pedestrian mall can be established for an appropriate space, in Chestertown, on Saturday mornings/ This act would be helpful to both the market and the merchats still surving on upper High Street. THe survey, as the Mayor noted, can be a valuable tool. The survey should be distributed to customers and venders several times during the months the market operates. They are the real interested parties.
This matter need not be a tempest in a teapot.
joe diamond says
Fletcher,
I followed every word. You communicated well. There were certain little K street verbalisms and nounisms but overall…you da man!
No need for the tempest in a teapot……………..those who want it that way won’t change…………and the only people I know who can spell reiterate don’t like it when someone else does it to them.
Overall good statement…..B+! And you did it without Lincoln.
Rock on!
Joe
Kevin Shertz says
I can totally get behind the “pedestrian mall” concept.
As much as some elements of this Town wanted to throw brickbats at the Planning Commission for its determination regarding the “Park Row” zoning issue a few years back, the facts remain self-evident: it’s a commercial area, and we need to encourage it to be even more of a commercial area so as to sustain/increase the presence of things like the Farmer’s Market, which bring the entire downtown a significant amount of foot traffic.
That’s in everyone’s best interest.
Keith Thompson says
Which kind of begs the question…does it make sense to have a public park in a commercial area? Does it make sense to have town sponsored and operated commercial activity in a public park?
Kevin Shertz says
Multiple generations of history in both the U.S. and Europe say, “yes” to both questions.
Public space is, by its very definition, owned by government, Keith. Otherwise… you know… it’s private land.
The notion of public parks in commercial areas is hardly controversial, as is the notion that somehow government-sponsered commerce in public areas is somehow controversial.
Keith Thompson says
Which begs the next question…pertaining to Park Row. If having a public park in a commercial area is OK, why then would first floor residences next to a public park not be OK. This only makes sense to me if Fountain Park is strictly for commercial use, especially since the commercial activity of the Farmer’s Market (3 hours a week) is given for the reason for the Park Row zoning. The 165 hours a week it serves as a recreational facility doesn’t factor in?
Kevin Shertz says
Keith, this subject was thoroughly discussed in multiple treads on The Spy several years ago. Use The Google.
Keith Thompson says
Kevin, you’re the one who used Park Row zoning to defend the town’s running of the Farmer’s Market.
Petey Bestmom says
Now that the video finally went up – all I can say is – Hooray for Linda K. about the dogs. They are a nuisance, why do people feel they must bring their (usually huge) dogs with them? Weren’t dogs banned from Tea Party a while back? I say, ban ’em from Saturday mornings in the Park, too. Who wants to be standing studying some goodies when you feel something brushing up to your butt. Not a pickpocket. No, some dog belonging to some irresponsible owner who is chatting away, completely oblivious to what their pet is doing.
Please don’t anybody say the ACLU will take the position the beasts have a legal right to be there. Ugghh!
Keith Thompson says
I’m pretty sure dogs are still banned from the Tea Party.
Stu Cawley says
Re. dogs at the mkt, I do agree w/ Petey (an infrequent occurrence) that they frequently are much more of a nuisance in that kind of congested environment than their owners would like to believe. I love dogs, firmly believe that owning pets generally improves humans’ capacity for compassion, & love seeing them in public sharing & adding to the lives of their owners. Altho on a smaller scale, the degree of crowding in the mkt is very similar to that of Tea Party, which means that the many people who are intimidated by dogs cannot avoid them & suggests that the same rules should apply. I can tell you from working the Easton Farmers’ Mkt the last 2 years that it’s a rare saturday when there isn’t at least one moment when 2 dogs are snarling & lunging at each other, even if the vast majority of the dogs & owners are friendly & well behaved, & I can’t imagine Chestertown’s is any different.
As Petey says, the dogs’ owners are often engrossed in conversation w/ friends, neighbors, & strangers (which is one of the important ways farmers’ mkts add to a community) & “completely oblivious to what their pet is doing.” I’ve had dogs nosing & occasionally licking the food products we’d labored over & then couldn’t sell & once had one take a dump directly in the center of our U-shaped booth set-up. The owner was at least apologetic & quickly cleaned up after her dog, but the immediate visual & lingering olfactory effects of a big pile of feces don’t exactly boost food sales.
As much as I’d hate to ban dogs from the mkt, as they do add a pleasant air of informality to the occasion, the nuisance, fright, & hygiene risks they pose should outweigh their owners’ desire to bring them to that setting. People scared of dogs have the option of avoiding them on the sidewalk or in the park when it’s not packed; they don’t during mkt.
Keith Thompson says
Stu, I’ve never been to the Easton Farmer’s Market so I’m asking the question because I don’t know the answer, but is the Easton Farmer’s Market on public property or private property? Also, is it privately run or publicly run? Chestertown’s Farmer’s Market is on public property and run by the town meaning its legally a public gathering that the town is very limited on the restrictions they can place on the activity there. So if dogs are allowed to be in the park under normal conditions, the town may not be able to ban them from the market.
Stu Cawley says
Keith, excellent point re. public vs. private & possible inability if public to apply different rules to different events at different times. Easton’s is also on public property (a town parking lot), but I confess I don’t know anything about its administration beyond its efficient, fair, & friendly mgr i.e. I don’t know under what type of town oversight — if any — she operates.
And I should have pointed out that I shopped at C-town’s mkt for years before working Easton’s & am once again now that I’m no longer in Easton every sat AM, so my observations & suggestions are not based solely upon my experience in Easton. The two mkts are analogous in many ways & quite different in others.
Petey Bestmom says
Keith, oh, pleeeez. Next, you will be advocating the dogs should also be allowed to bring their musical instruments and entertain us with their talent…????
Mr. Cawley, I am not a dog hater at all. But they have no place at Farmers Market due to the reasons you amplified on.
To be honest, if one of these dogs took a dump while I was standing close by about to make a purchase, I would get the heck out of the there in a hurry.
And I wouldn’t be coming back. After all, Lockbriar Farms isn’t really that much farther for me to go than Fountain Park.
matthew weir says
I can only comment on the video as I am not aware enough of the issue regarding the survey. It is classic, though, to hear Mr. Stetson throw up roadblocks regarding what can’t be done at the market. I would encourage Mr. Stetson to come forward with positive ideas that will increase business, not decrease it.
Owen McCoy says
I would like to add that we were not critical of the members of the survey group[many of whom are friends of mine]. We just were{are] critical of the extent to which it appears farmers and regular shoppers were not represented on the group. Also, Don Biggar and Wayne Lockwood were spectators who were asked to speak by the mayor at the end of my talk. I feel that we have nothing for which to be apologetic.
Owen McCoy says
One more thing- I forgot that at the meeting that I attended, both the Mayor and Council seemed very supportive of what we had to say.
Don Biggar says
I agree Owen, the Mayor, and the other members of the Council were supportive of all of our comments. In fact some of them were quite taken aback that they had never heard of this study taking place, or had copies of the initial report. Copies needed to be made and handed out to the council members on the spot, giving them very little time to review the information. I found some of their initial responses to be similar to mine though. To give readers here some information, the study groups’ report involves several handouts. One handout contains the answers to the original 37 questions asked last year. Another one is the “Study Group Report Highlights”, which includes their conclusions with Primary and Secondary recommendations for changes to the market structure, including their repeatedly most important finding, that governance of the market be taken away from the Town Council. After the first meeting of the vendors and Mr. Wheelan, a revised report was generated with changes to some of those recommendations, and this was given to the vendors at the second meeting between the vendors and Mr. Wheelan.
There is a good amount of valuable information to be found here, and it is always good to look at how you do things, with an eye to doing things better. There are also some good ideas, from thoughtful people on the study group. Several members of that group are friends of mine, and I have no interest in offending any of them. I do not feel I owe anyone an apology. But I will also do whatever I have to do, to protect my interests, and the continuing success of the Farmers Market.
I am not personally acquainted with some of the other members, though I don’t feel their motives are anything but well founded. And then there are a couple of members I will not comment on, in the interest of not owing anyone an apology.
One thing that was good to hear was Mayor Bailey stating that nothing in the report was going to go forward without first coming before the Council. That would be a good thing.
If we are questioning the governance of our market, or making policy changes to be more like other markets, we need to remember our status as the best market in the region. Other surrounding markets should strive to do things the way we have done them, not the other way around. Perhaps a consulting group working for a fee should have been formed instead, to advise other market management entities how to manage their markets the way our has been managed, so successfully for so many years.
Linda Parry says
I wish everyone would just take a step back – take a deep breath – and cool off a little. I first became acquainted with our wonderful Farmers’ Market many years ago when we were weekend sailors, with a boat in Rock Hall. I made it a point on Saturday mornings to haul myself out of my bunk and get into the car to drive “all the way to Chestertown” to avail myself of the beautiful produce and flowers available there. And while roaming around the market, I’d stop to pet the friendly dogs, (I LOVE the fact that Chestertown is “dog friendly”), chat with the locals, chat with fellow boaters who’d also made the trip from Rock Hall – and then I’d wander off to explore many of the charming stores and businesses, where I spent not a small amount of money.
If you stand on High Street or Cross Street on a bright, sunshiney Saturday, look over at the market – with all of its bright colours, smiling vendors and customers. Sometimes you’ll hear strains of music, sometimes there are dramatic presentations having to do with historical events – I once even heard a concert given by a tractor and a couple of harps! And what you’ll see is vitality – sort of a Chestertown “heartbeat,” that looks like fun and conviviality. It makes one want to be part of the activity. I also particularly love seeing the for-adoption cats and dogs from the Humane Society. It’s an uplifting experience that makes me happy we decided to become residents.
And it breaks my heart that there is now this undercurrent of hurt feelings, resentments, and negativity. C’mon, people – this is an extremely successful Farmers’ Market, not a Constitutional Congress. The idea should be to welcome people – and add to it – not regulate it out of existence, or change it so that it bears no resemblance to what attracted us all in the first place. Downtown is struggling – don’t let that struggle spill over into the Farmers’ Market. And let’s all get out there on Saturday mornings and have a good time. It’s a great way to start a weekend!
matthew weir says
Linda, what a wonderful comment!
Beth Ostrander says
Linda,
Well said as usual. 🙂
matthew weir says
I enjoy the Chestertown Farmers Market immensely and sometimes drive out just to go to it. Whether it should be altered in any way is not something I have an opinion about. However, I believe that having the study published so that the public may read it and acquaint themselves with the findings and recommendations would certainly be helpful. There seems to be a great deal of conjecture and he said/she said.
I believe that research is always good in that we can learn from successes and from failures. In Washington, DC we enjoy a few farmers markets that a run by a non-proffit group. Their website is here: https://www.freshfarmmarkets.org I would encourage folks to look at it and, perhaps, ask the leaders whether they would be willing to share their story and what they have learned. Can’t hurt, right? I was surprised to see that they run the St. Michael’s market.
Keith Thompson says
Petey writes, “Keith, oh, pleeeez. Next, you will be advocating the dogs should also be allowed to bring their musical instruments and entertain us with their talent…????”
Not at all Petey. I’m completely neutral on the issue of dogs at the Farmer’s Market. What I’m pointing out is simply that because the Farmer’s Market is operated on public property and is managed by the town, the town is greatly restricted on how much control they can exert on the event due to its nature as a public gathering. If the town were to hand over the management to a non-profit group that gets a permit to use the park (sort of along the lines of Fletcher’s suggestion), such a group has more leeway over what is or isn’t permitted at the market. The public gathering nature of the Farmer’s Market (as pointed out to me by the Rutherford Institute lawyers) reaches farther than simple busking rights.
Petey Bestmom says
I thought I was joking about the ACLU. Guess not.
Keith, the fact it is a public park should be trumped by the health department and hygiene concerns stated by Mr. Cawley. I don’t think even the ACLU or Rutherford people could get around that.
If the Town of Chestertown can legally designate certain portions of the public grounds are reserved every single Saturday between the hours of 9 am to 1 pm for the purpose of vendors displaying food for human consumption, and, MUCH of which is UNwrapped, I see no reason why under present laws, they cannot display a sign saying Service Dogs Only Permitted . It is just common sense. I am surprised the issue hasn’t come up before now. Maybe all this controversy over the mayor’s study committee will encourage more people to speak out.
People don’t take their dogs with them when they go grocery shopping. Or go eat a meal in a restaurant. If they would confine the mutts to the High Street side where the crafts vendors are, that would be okay. As Mr. Cawley pointed out, it is so narrow and congested where the food vendors are located that even the people who bring tiny little pooches create problems. I am afraid I am going to accidentally step on some Teacup chihuahua or other small dog who is right at my feet while I am studying the corn or green tomatoes.
If Linda Kuiper’s advice is not followed, know what I will do? I will contact the ACLU and tell ’em I have been deprived of my civil liberties to walk my cat on a leash at the Fountains Market. Due to the excessive number of dogs allowed by the town during the operation of the Market. It is clearly discriminatory; equal accommodations must be provided for cats.
Sounds about right.
Keith Thompson says
Petey, I think what you suggest can be done and can pass legal muster. My point here is, the town hasn’t done this thus far concerning dogs (unless they don’t want to restrict dogs which is also an option) and didn’t take the legal ramifications into play when they tried to prevent busking.
Carla Massoni says
Whew! Tempest in a Tea Party – oops tea cup!! Don’t you just love it! Small town America at its best….and I am not being ironic! Chestertown – the best little town in the world!
d lamotte says
My head hurts after reading these…and to think I would love dogs to be welcomed in restaurants…!
Stu Cawley says
Yikes! Mine, too. I was simply trying to share my experiences & personal opinion about the appropriateness of dogs in the farmers’ mkt, not trying to get the ACLU & chinchilla lawyers involved. I DON’T wish to see increased regulation at the farmers’ mkt (which, again, works extremely well overall), merely some better defined guidelines which are clear to everybody (town officials, current vendors, would-be vendors, & customers) so there would be far LESS of this teacup tempestuousness.
Beth Ostrander says
I agree… my head aches too. After ten years of living there every summer, my husband and I will finally be moving to Chestertown permanently. The farmer’s market is admittedly one of the main reasons we love it so much. It’s not just the goods, it’s the friends, the dogs, a real feeling of participation in the community. Communication and compromise may be out of fashion in the national political environment right now, but we can’t let that happen in Chestertown; a little town is too fragile. A planning group needs to feel inclusive and truly be inclusive to all constituent groups in order for it to be supportable. And as far as the dogs are concerned, here’s a compromise… Have the vendors agree on a short set of guidelines on a sign on how to be a good canine customer. Social pressure is all you need to get dog owners to do the right thing:
for instance 1) Avoid the food aisle, 2)mind where your dog’s nose goes, 3)potty before you shop.