MEGAN LEE Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Thursday, January 31, 2008 12:00 am
After a "very successful" first meeting, members of the newly-formed Farmers' Market Committee said they think downtown Casper could have a community market by the end of July.
"Everybody was introduced and everybody had a chance to say what brought them to the meeting," said Tina Wulf, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority. "It was like a micro-community market because we got to know people right off the bat."
The approximately 50 people in attendance discussed safety concerns, public parking and location for the new market.
The Farmers' Market Committee was formed to address the larger group's ideas and concerns, and developed into an 11-person advisory board. Committee members will tackle topics like government relations, public relations, marketing, legal issues, vendor issues, parking and logistics.
Nick Azar, named president of the committee, said he thinks committee members and community members will be able to make the new market a reality sometime this summer.
"Sometime this year is a very realistic goal - aggressive but realistic," Azar said. "Hopefully with everyone's input, we can find a location that is convenient for everybody and make some decisions, but right now we're just beginning. We're in a very infant state."
Some meeting attendees - those dedicated to the existing Master Gardeners Farmers' Market - were less enthusiastic about the creation of a new farmers' market in Casper.
Susan Freeman, director of services for Motorcoach Tours and Competition for Casper Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and a concerned community member, said she's worried that the new market would negatively impact the existing market.
"My first concern was that vendors wouldn't have a choice, that this new community market would try to come in and take over," Freeman said. "That wouldn't be fair to the vendors or the Master Gardeners. On a personal level, I hope it doesn't conflict with the existing one."
Other towns - some smaller than Casper, some about the same size - have made two farmers' markets work by holding the markets on different days.
In Cheyenne, one market is held on Tuesday, the other on Saturday. The same works for Bozeman, Mont., which has a population of just under 28,000 people, and for Hailey, Idaho, which has only about 6,500 residents. Even Basin, with a population of 1,220, has two farmers' markets.
Jack Worrell, who owns a greenhouse in Torrington, said that with so many vendors in Wyoming willing to come to Casper, a second market venue could be helpful and necessary. He hopes that the new market will be held on a weekday to avoid directly competing with the existing market.
"How do you get rid of something that old? You can't. You don't want to," Worrell said. "We don't want to be in conflict with the market the Master Gardeners have. They've worked too hard for too long to have their market on Saturday mornings, and we don't want to compete with them."
Reach reporter Megan Lee at (307) 266-0589 or megan.lee@trib.com