BRUNSWICK — In an attempt to help protect the downtown mall, Brunswick town officials might move the Brunswick Farmers Market to Park Row, a solution that farmers and officials both agree is less than ideal, but is, for now, a viable solution.
What some farmers find less agreeable is the funding mechanism: To help cover the costs of moving the market, the town is considering charging vendors $13,500, nearly four times the current $3,500 fee.
The downtown mall is a vital part of the community, according to Tom Farrell, director Parks and Recreation, and it is being “loved to death.”
The Brunswick downtown farmers market on opening day in May. Darcie Moore/The Times Record
Bare patches of compacted earth and pits of mud cover this once-lush green space. As the ground deteriorates, so do the trees, which are suffocating under the weight of vehicles parked on the mall for the market.
The 15 vendors selling vegetables, meats, cheeses, eggs, bread, coffee, sweets, flowers and more need between 7,500 to 23,000 square feet to operate, and the Farmer’s Market Site Investigation Workgroup suggested moving to lower Park Row in what councilor Jane Millett called the “least worst” option for everyone.
The Park Row plan would require that Park Row become a one-way street running north to south, and town staff would install pedestrian barricades behind the vendors. This keeps the mall close to its current location but would also eliminate some of the already limited parking downtown, Farrell said in a presentation to the council last month.
The initial cost of the plan would be about $5,600 to purchase the pedestrian barricades, with an estimated annual operations cost of $9,750 for barricade set up and pick up twice per week. The council may also consider allocating about $29,000 to extend the five-foot sidewalk to 10 feet, but that would be addressed in a separate funding ordinance. The ground will also need to be re-sodded no matter how they plan to proceed, Farrell said.
The Brunswick Town Council is hosting a public hearing about moving the market to Park Row, making the road a one-way street and the associated fees Jan. 21.
Abby Sadauckas, co-owner of Apple Creek Farm in Bowdoinham and president of the Brunswick Farmers Market Association, suggested to the council Monday that if town officials were to deliver and remove the barricades, the vendors could set them up and break them down to help minimize the financial burden. She suggested the fees only increase to $5,000. After all, she said, the $3,500 they have previously been charged is for the use of the mall. With the new location, the market would no longer be using the mall.
Nate Drummond, co-owner of Six River Farm, said the current budget for the Farmer’s Market Association is only about $4,800. Right now, each vendor pays $300. An increase of $10,000 is “fairly significant,” and many vendors, some of whom have sold at the market for generations, would struggle to come up with the money.
Cathy Karonis, co-owner of Fairwinds Farm in Topsham, said she “accepted the fact that we can’t be on the mall and that Park Row will be a good alternative,” but that the fee increase is a concern.
“I understand that it will have to go up,” she said, but “the increase seems to be large.”
She suggested that perhaps the town and the market could share the cost and then reevaluate after a year.
“We all know we have got a great market down there and we all do well,” she said.
Going from $3,500 to $13,500 in one year “is going to be a lot for us,” said Bob Spear of Spear’s Vegetable Farm.
Spear has been selling at the market for at least 20 years, and while he, Drummond, Karonis and Sadauckas can perhaps afford the cost spike as some of the larger farms, “we have other vendors that can’t.” He suggested perhaps the increase be staggered over time.
It is worth it to maintain the market’s current high-standards, as “the Brunswick Farmers Market is known throughout the state as just about the best farmers market there is,” he said.
Most markets in the state, like those in Augusta, Portland, Falmouth and Belfast, charge between $150 and $250 for dues, though the Portland market charges an additional $50 to sell in each of its three markets, so some may pay as much as $350. The Brunswick Brunswick Topsham Land Trust Farmers Market at Crystal Spring Farm chargest $675 per stall– a higher cost because the land trust owns the land and has to pay for staffing, property management, repairs and more, as well as some parking and traffic safety issues that arose this year, according to Angela Twitchell, executive director.
Many farmers attend multiple markets throughout the year and have to budget for the cost of multiple sets of fees.
Sadauckas, for example, sells at the Brunswick Farmers Market, the Brunswick Topsham Land Trust Farmers Market at Crystal Spring Farm and the Brunswick Winter Market in Fort Andross.
“Every market is different,” Twitchell said, and it is important for all markets to “keep the fees as reasonable as possible to keep a vibrant agricultural economy.”
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