BY TIMOTHY LAROCHE
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CLAREMONT — A cloud of uncertainty hangs over the Claremont Farmers Market after city staff decided to push back municipal involvement for another year.
No clear answer exists yet whether the market will resume operations this summer.
With Parks and Recreation Director Mark Brislin’s announcement on Wednesday that he will take a multi-week medical leave starting this week, the city will not operate the market this season.
The market’s board of directors asked the city to take over operations for this year.
Brislin said he is not certain whether the remaining members of the market’s board of directors will run the market on their own this year.
“I want to make sure we have all our ducks in a row before going forward,” Brislin said.
City staffers plan to begin operating the market under the banner of the Department of Parks and Recreation in 2019.
While city councilors accepted $8,000 in grant funding from the Thomas W. Haas Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation to support start-up costs for a new Claremont Farmers Market, the award is contingent upon being able to hold the funding for a year before spending it.
Grant funding would cover initial marketing expenses and hiring expenses for a new market manager. Vital Communities, a Vermont-based non-profit, helped city staff apply for the grant to advance the market.
Brislin said that vendor application fees would fund continuing market operations after the grant is expended. Overall, the market is intended to be revenue neutral for the city, with no need to appropriate taxpayer money.
The decision follows nearly three months of discussions between Parks and Recreation Commission members, city staff and remaining members of the Claremont Farmers Market Association board of directors. Talks arose after nearly all members of the board of directors, then-President Terry Gould and then-market Manager Suzanne Hastings resigned hours after the last day of the market.
In the years since the 2008 recession, market attendance dropped, bringing vendor profits with it. The local agricultural community took another hit in 2011 when Hurricane Irene deluged the area, eroding riverbanks and flooding farmland.
In a bid to rejuvenate the struggling market, the Claremont Department of Parks and Recreation was handed the reigns. Already, the department hosts several well-attended events each year.
Although the call for a market coordinator opened last month, city staff have not found a candidate. With Brislin’s absence and no clear leader for the market found yet, the city’s involvement has been pushed back another year.
“The Coordinator is responsible for administrating and managing all aspects of the operation of the Claremont Farmers’ Market, comprised of vendors of agricultural produce, prepared foods and crafts,” a job posing through the city’s Department of Human Resources said. “This position has frequent contact with vendors, media and the general public.”
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