Some Blue Ridge vendors say they do not to want leave their downtown location. Representing the downtown farmers’ market, Ande Cook confronted city council this morning on council’s decision to re-locate vendors from the downtown park–where they currently sell their goods on weekends–to the State Farmers’ Market facility on East First Street.

The city, though, just spent $38,000 in renovating the State Farmers’ Market, which included restroom repairs and the installation of a handicap access. Now that restorations are complete, the city plans to move vendors to East First Street.

“They (the vendors) don’t like it there,”

Cook said

. “And I think the reason why is because it’s kind of a soulless gravel pit; it looks more like an internment camp and I don’t think that’s what our customers like.”

Cook went on to say that the “green space” of the park is a major factor in drawing customers, opposed to the gravel of the East First Street location. She also said that some of the older vendors depend on the money they make in the downtown location to supplement their income in these tough economic times. Additionally, Cook called selling goods downtown an example of a free-market enterprise, saying it was a chance to push back at big corporate agri-business.

“Wouldn’t it make more sense to wait until next year?”

she asked.

Council member Rodney Kendall, though, said that they’ve had these discussions for three years. He went on to say that in previous years the downtown farmers’ market has requested to set up in the park. But, this year he said vendors simply set up their booths without asking.

Kendall explained that the two major issues with the farmers’ market staying in the park are 1) fairness 2) limited parking.

“We have events in the park and those vendors are required to pay $25 a vendor and then after that it’s $50 a vendor,”

he said, adding that the farmers’ market does not pay this fee. He also said last weekend booths for the downtown farmers’ market were stretched from the park to past the courthouse, implying a growing market would make the parking situation worse than it is already. Cook, however, said that wouldn’t happen because vendors’ who can’t sell stop coming, calling the mechanism of containment self-regulating.

Mayor Donna Whitener added that she’s heard complaints from store owners, that they’re paying store-front rent while farmers’ market vendors are not, making it seem as if vendors are competing with stores. Here, though, Whitener explained that they’re two different markets; stores selling manufactured goods and vendors selling home-made or home-grown goods.

During the meeting this morning, Whitener said she’s “torn on the issue.” In a workshop earlier in the month, the mayor mentioned that having the market downtown draws customers into stores, creating more revenue. Similarly, Cook suggested the vendors’ profit is higher in the park than it would be at the East First Street location.

Cook also argued that the community supports keeping the farmers market downtown. According to a recent on-line poll, she said 70 percent of those polled support keeping the market in the park. Kendall, though, said the poll was flawed, because one person can vote more than once by deleting “cookies” on the website and then voting again.

“I think the whole experience of being outside and hearing the kids laughing on the jungle-gym and birds and just the whole set-up of it is a very different and more appealing experience than going to the State Farmers’ Market,”

Cook said.

Kendall explained the city is responsible for an equitable solution to the situation.

By the end of this morning’s meeting, the two parties decided to further negotiate the matter over the next few weeks with the possibility of allowing vendors to stay downtown through out the summer and then, perhaps, relocating the market to East First Street next year.

“There is room for discussion,”

Kendall said.