Crowds protest new Turlock farmers market selection process

Despite the protests of a passionate, overflow crowd, the Turlock City Council voted to accept a new proposal process that puts the operation of the downtown Turlock farmers market up for grabs.

After more than four hours of discussion and public comment during a special Saturday afternoon session, the council – led by Mayor Gary Soiseth – voted 3-2 to approve a new, longer application that opens up the management of the city’s certified farmers market to competition. In December, the council voted to create a “request for proposal” process to decide who should run the city’s farmers market. The move came after a competing, for-profit application came in for a street closure for the same spot, day and time as the existing nonprofit Turlock Certified Farmers Market.

“We as a city are focused on creating a fair, transparent process. It’s not just a loophole; it’s flawed,” Soiseth said. “We don’t like this, we don’t like being in this position. We want to see a successful Turlock farmers market. I think there is time to come together and collaborate.”

The current nonprofit group was founded in 2009 and has run the market downtown for six years. Many were surprised when Peter Cipponeri, a 23-year-old farmer whose family operates a booth at the market, put in an application to displace the current nonprofit with his for-profit enterprise.

Now that the new selection process is approved, the nonprofit market’s organizers and Cipponeri will have until March 8 to apply. The council will then hear from supporters of the competing proposals and take a vote on which to accept during its March 15 meeting.

More than 130 people packed the City Hall chambers Saturday, with some 30 people speaking out directly against the new application process and in favor of the current nonprofit market. They included members of the all-volunteer Turlock Certified Farmers Market board, current vendors, downtown business owners and frequent farmers market shoppers. No speakers stepped up to support either the process or Cipponeri’s competing market.

Turlock Certified Farmers Market board President Elizabeth Claes objected to what she called the “unfettered discretion” given to the council by the request for proposal process to decide the market’s future.

“I would venture to guess that all the people who volunteered their time and energy and creativity to create and grow TCFM into what it is today will want to know how this council will treat this group and future groups who want to build community events and programs,” she said. “Because, personally, if I had known that the only thing that was keeping someone else from taking over all this creativity, all this hard work, all this beauty that is TCFM, if the only thing was a simple loophole in process, then I would have spent my time and my energy and my creativity somewhere else.”

In December, the council voted 4-1, with only Councilman Steven Nascimento objecting, to create a new process to accept proposals for a farmers market. Up until now, market organizers were required to file only a one-page street-closure application to operate. The new request for proposal plan is a 25-page application.

Soiseth and other members of the council have been under criticism for entertaining the competing bid because of political contributions made by Cipponeri and his relatives. A quarter of the mayor’s campaign funding came from Cipponeri’s extended family, totaling about $14,400.

The meeting started with a reaffirmation, from City Attorney Phaedra Norton, that there was no conflict of interest for any council members, including the mayor. Still, some in the audience held “Tin Cup” protest signs, demanding the city adopt a “Time Is Now, Clean Up Politics” ordinance meant to limit the influence of money in politics by barring officials from voting on issues involving large donors. Turlock does not have such an ordinance.

Brad Bates, who served as Turlock mayor for eight years in the 1980s, was among the speakers to address the possible appearance of a conflict of interest during the meeting.

“A year into your first term, mayor, I commend you for enthusiasm and your energy. But now your actions have to match your words,” Bates said. “I personally believe you need to recuse yourself on this issue.”

A number of times throughout the four-hour meeting, Soiseth either called the crowd to come to order or asked Interim City Manager Michael Cook to explain to the audience the purpose of the meeting in an effort to stick to the agenda items. Each instance was met with audible groans from those assembled.

Turlock resident Len Bell, who runs the Grandpa Len’s Wood Shop booth at the farmers market, was among those expressing anger at the council’s decision to open the process up in the first place.

“I’m disappointed in you, but also angry. You guys knew when you took that vote it was wrong, each and every one of you,” he said. “You guys need to behave yourselves. All the money in the world isn’t going to help you if we don’t vote for you.”

Nascimento, the lone dissenting vote in December in opening the selection process, also questioned the reason for creating the new system. He suggested the council had the ability to simply look at both submitted road closure applications and decide from there.

“The people are saying this is not the right process. It doesn’t do any good to listen and reach out if we’re not willing to take direction,” he said. “I think we have to put some value in that.”

Soiseth, meanwhile, laid much of the blame for the controversy on the previous council.

“I wish councils before me had figured this out, but they didn’t. I think it’s unfortunate we’re at this point,” he said.

Ultimately, the council, with Vice Mayor Amy Bublak listening and voting via phone, approved the new proposal process in a split decision. Soiseth, Bublak and Matthew Jacob voted yes; Nascimento and Bill DeHart Jr. voted no. The results drew scattered boos from the crowd.

This story was originally published February 20, 2016 at 7:32 PM with the headline "Crowds protest new Turlock farmers market selection process."