Public Market Advisory Commission

City of Ann Arbor 301 E. Huron St. Ann Arbor, MI 48104 http://a2gov.legistar.com/ Meeting Minutes Calendar.aspx Public Market Advisory Commission Thursday, August 15, 2019 5:30 PM Larcom City Hall, 301 E Huron St, Second floor, City Council Chambers A CALL TO ORDER Commissioner Cacciari callled the meeting to order at 5:32 pm B ROLL CALL Present: 4- Alexandra Cacciari, Holly Parker, Lisa Young, and Jeff Nemeth Absent: 1- Peter Woolf C APPROVAL OF AGENDA D FIRST PUBLIC COMMENTARY (AGENDA ITEMS ONLY) - (3 Minutes per Speaker) Debi Marx, artisan vendor, requested artisans be allowed 2 permanent stalls. Ann shephard, artisan vendor, thanked PMAC for addresing artisan issue and likes proposal #4. Christine Schopieray, artisan vendor, hopes the commission can remaine impartial and represent all vendors. E APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS July 18, 2019 PMAC Meeting Minutes Approved by the Commission and forwarded to the City Council due back on 9/16/2019 F PRESENTATIONS G REGULAR BUSINESS (AGENDA ITEMS) Operating Rule Changes City of Ann Arbor Page 1 Public Market Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes August 15, 2019 Commissioner Nemeth recommended revisiting the wording in the future to add temporary, or time limits that must be renewed on decisions made through this provision. Summary of proposals dealing with artisan stalls Proposal to add a temporary 13th stall for artisans After considering all proposals thus far, PMAC passed the following resolution: RESOLUTION TO RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING EXCEPTION TO THE FARMERS MARKET OPERATING RULES, SECTION 5. STALLS, IN ACCORDANCE WITH 5.G.: [This resolution is subject to City Council’s adoption of the current proposed change to the Farmers Market Operating Rules, section 5.G., regarding Stalls. If the rule change is not adopted, this recommendation is null and void.] Proposal to add a thirteenth stall for artisans that remains in place on a TEMPORARY basis, until the top 3 artisans leftover after 2019 stall Move Up that have been attending 20+ years receive an annual stall, after which the total stall number for artisans revert back to 12. Whereas, the limit of 12 annual stalls for artisan vendors has resulted in a high discrepancy between the number of years an artisan remains on the Daily list, vs the number of years a producer remains on the Daily list before moving up to annual status and receiving a permanent stall. Whereas, the number of years the top artisan vendor has been on the Daily list is more than twice the number of years the top producer has been on the daily list (23 years vs 10 years). And, once Stall Move Up is complete for this 2019 year, will be 23 years vs 6 years. Whereas, there proposed change will take a step toward benefiting the artisans that are all in the similar situation of having attended market 20+ years, rather than a temporary change that affects just one person. RESOLVED, that the Public Market Advisory Commission recommends awarding a 13th annual stall to artisan vendors on a TEMPORARY basis, effective immediately. RESOLVED, that the addition of the 13th stall for artisans will revert back to 12 after the top 3 artisans leftover after 2019 stall Move Up that have been attending 20+ years receive an annual stall. RESOLVED, that the Public Market Advisory Commission regularly review vendor makeup and set guidelines for a percentage of each City of Ann Arbor Page 2 Public Market Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes August 15, 2019 type of product represented at the market, at least once every three years. Proposal to set percentage guidelines for artisan makeup RESOLUTION TO RECOMMEND SETTING PERCENTAGE GUIDELINES FOR CONTROLLING THE RATIO OF ARTISAN TO PRODUCER AT THE TIME OF ACCEPTANCE INTO THE MARKET. Whereas, the current way of controlling the ratio of artisan to producer vendors is at the time of moveup to annual stalls, with 12 permanent stalls for artisan vendors and 132 for producer vendors. Whereas, the market seeks to establish a long term balance between produce and artisan products that remains consistent over time. Whereas, controlling the ratio ONLY with annual stall numbers does nothing to establish a balance on the daily vendor list, and thus does not reflect what the market looks like in vendor makeup on any given day. Whereas, limiting annual stall numbers for artisans while ignoring the daily list creates an unfair environment and may result in unequal treatment of vendors. Whereas, the goal is to create a fairer and more equal market environment for all vendors while maintaining an ideal product balance, which is best done at time of admittance. RESOLVED, that the Public Market Advisory Commission recommends controlling the ratio of artisan to producer at the time of acceptance into the market. RESOLVED, that the market manager strive for an 8% - 10% cap of artisans when admitting new vendors, to match the percentage of annul stalls allocated to artisans and producers (12 out of 144). This should be calculated not by individual vendor type (1:1 ratio), but by an average of how many stalls each vendor (annual and daily) selects on a regular basis. Emailed public comment summary of concerns and pros Summary of concerns: 1. Adding another stall for artisans disadvantages producers, who we want to encourage. Since we are primarily a food market, that’s another potentially 2 stalls taken before a producer. Producers need 2-3 stalls together. A greater number of individual annual vendors City of Ann Arbor Page 3 Public Market Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes August 15, 2019 means those stalls get broken up, and producers have more difficulty getting stalls next to each other. We need to be creating as many opportunities as possible for new producers on the daily list to succeed at our market. We have a much smaller number than in the past and need to build our market up again with vegetables and plants. 2. The AA Farmers Market is primarily a food market. There is an artisan market on Sunday, which provides another alternative for them. Artisans add a great variety, but our primary focus should be food. 3. A small incremental change, such as that proposed, does more harm than good. It doesn’t solve the larger problem, and disproportionately affects only one person. Does this justify a change to the operating rules? If we make this change, it’s easy to justify several more changes as well – 2nd stall for artisans, moving up more to annuals, etc. Why stop here, vs integrating the lists. Either we should look at making a larger policy change, OR keep the existing rules in place that have been there for decades. 4. The decision process to arrive at this action was not inclusive or long enough. Most vendors did not realize it was being considered until about a month ago, and did not have a chance to weigh in. That’s ok for small changes to the rules, but something like this should allow for more input before a decision is made. When the rules were created, during the mediation, it was with attorneys and all voices present. Now we are seeking to alter a major decision that was made through a process that everyone agreed was fair. 5. The decision to change these rules is creating a climate that rushes us into yet another big decision – 4 stalls for producers. (how to make that happen is another matter – city code also dictates # of permanent stalls allowed and not just Market Operating Rules). There is one voice we haven’t heard from yet – the dailies. They are the ones who will be negatively affected by any of these changes, and they also have not been at the table. 6. If we do award artisans another stall and do not find a way to support producers at the same time, there will be a great deal of backlash, and we need to consider that effect on the market overall. 7. Although we have heard several (moving) concerns from artisans, these rules have always been in place and they agreed to these expectations when deciding to return for the year. We have to consider the market not just as it is right now, but in the long term and what it could be 20 years from now. Now the list is moving quickly, but soon we will get more producers and there will be no stalls open for moveup until a new group retires. We’ve been at a City of Ann Arbor Page 4 Public Market Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes August 15, 2019 place before where a producer had to wait 20 years before becoming an annual. The market changes in cycles, and we shouldn’t leap to change these rules when we are in a down cycle. Summary of pros 1. This is a TEMPORARY measure that benefits the 3 worst affected people, and reverts back to the standard rules after that 2. The number of years the top artisan vendor has been on the Daily list is more than twice the number of years the top producer has been on the daily list (23 years vs 10 years). And, once Stall Move Up is complete for this 2019 year, will be 23 years vs 6 years. 3. Adding another annual stall for artisans does not affect the number of artisans vs producers at market on any given day 4. There are several unassigned stalls and we will not have to deny a daily producer a permanent stall just because we decide to award one to an artisan 5. Moving up one more artisan to the annual list does not affect the current order in which the vendors pick stalls. If we do nothing and continue as usual, the artisan at the top of the daily list will be passed over by 9 producers that are currently picking after her Vendor request for 4 stalls Wed Proposal to add 4th stall on Wednesdays only PMAC passed the following resolution: RESOLUTION TO RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING EXCEPTION TO THE FARMERS MARKET OPERATING RULES, SECTION 5. STALLS, IN ACCORDANCE WITH 5.G.: [This resolution is subject to City Council’s adoption of the current proposed change to the Farmers Market Operating Rules, section 5.G., regarding Stalls. If the rule change is not adopted, this recommendation is null and void.] ON WEDNESDAY MARKET ONLY, VENDORS MAY SELECT UP TO FOUR STALLS DURING THE STALL ASSIGNMENT PROCESS, IN ORDER OF SENIORITY Whereas, Wednesdays are never full, and we are seeking ways of filling out the market and making it look abundant. This is good for both customers and vendors. Whereas, the total number of vendors on Wednesdays averages 35 at the busiest time of year, leaving empty stalls even on the main aisle after stall selection. Whereas, several regular vendors could use an additional stall to City of Ann Arbor Page 5 Public Market Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes August 15, 2019 display product, which would improve their business, and still leave plenty of stalls vacant for dailies and those further down on the seniority list. Whereas, this is a TEMPORARY adjustment in effect for ONE YEAR, and must be renewed by a vote from PMAC along with agreement by the market manager and Community Services Administrator, because we do not know what Wednesday Market attendance will be like in the future. RESOLVED, that the Public Market Advisory Commission recommends that on Wednesday market only, vendors may select up to four stalls during the stall assignment process, in order of seniority. RESOLVED, that these changes are in effect according to The Public Market Operating Rules, section 5.G., for one year’s time. At the September meeting of 2020, PMAC, the market manager and the Community Services Administrator must agree to renew the practice, or it will expire automatically. RESOLVED, that this go into effect the first Wednesday Market of September, 2019. RESOLVED, that the manager request anecdotes and data from vendors at the one year renewal period to assess effectiveness of this practice. RESOLVED, that the Public Market Advisory Commission regularly review vendor makeup and set guidelines for a percentage of each type of product represented at the market, at least once every three years. 4th stall Wed map Vendor request for 4 stalls permanent Assignment of stalls remaining open after 2019 Move Up Market manager will give the new annual vendors a chance to select a 2nd permanent stall. All other leftover stalls will remain open to decide how to allocate at a later time. PMAC 2019 Officer Ballots Commissioner Parker voted new chair. Anonymous vote, all yes. City of Ann Arbor Page 6 Public Market Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes August 15, 2019 H NEW BUSINESS (NON-AGENDA ITEMS) I REPORTS Market Manager Report Received and filed J SECOND PUBLIC COMMENT (NOT LIMITED TO AGENDA ITEMS) L ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Cacciari adjourned the meeting at 7:45 pm All persons are encouraged to participate in public meetings. Citizens requiring translation or sign language services or other reasonable accommodations may contact the City Clerk's office at 734.794.6140; via e-mail to: cityclerk@a2gov.org; or by written request addressed and mailed or delivered to: City Clerk's Office 301 E. Huron St. Ann Arbor, MI 48104 Requests made with less than two business days' notice may not be able to be accommodated. City of Ann Arbor Page 7