City wise to monitor farmers’ market issues

The widening divide between opposing Peterborough Farmers’ Market vendors seems headed for a cracking point this Monday. That’s when the market membership is scheduled to vote on whether to ban seven vendors who are calling for changes in the way the popular market operates.

The City of Peterborough is a mostly reluctant participant in the controversy as the owner of Morrow Park and the market’s landlord.

A recently formed group that began a campaign last fall to let market patrons know which vendors grow their own produce and which buy from a large food terminal in Toronto wants the city to open up bidding for the right to operate the market.

The city’s position is that it is not taking sides. That’s a wise approach. However, opening the lease for operation of a market in Morrow Park to competitive bids would not mean favoring one side over the other.

In fact, the city hinted it might take that path a year ago when chief administrative officer Allan Seabrooke wrote to the market’s board of directors suggesting they adopt better and more transparent practices.

Those included developing a strategic business plan and having annual independent audits of the market’s books, something the dissident vendors had called for.

Seabrooke stated the city would be reviewing the lease agreement as the 2018 renewal date approached and might open it to other bidders.

Since then the market has hired an auditor and expects to get a report shortly. One major issue the audit should clear up is an allegation by the vendors seeking change that $22,000 went missing between 2015 and 2016.

Market president Cindy Hope has said the discrepancy is the result of a simple entry error – an incorrect figure was used going from one year to the next – and all money is accounted for.

A somewhat troubling sidebar to the missing money allegations is that Hope, herself a small local vendor, pleaded guilty in 2004 to defrauding a former employer.

However, past criminal behaviour is in the past. If the audit finds the market’s books are clean then Hope’s prior record should not be an issue for the city in its role as landlord.

Neither should the dispute over local vs. resellers or the call by some vendors to hire a full-time manager for the market, an option others say would be too costly.

Those are management practices the members can deal with. If the majority feels strongly enough to toss seven members out that is their prerogative.

However, council shouldn’t guarantee any group a lock on the use of public space for all time. Simple fairness requires that after decades of rolling the lease over, others get a chance to compete.