Farmers market fight in Turlock could yield two events

An emotional fight over who will run Turlock’s farmers market is not over, despite a City Council vote to award the contract to the single remaining bidder.

Late Tuesday, a split council voted to award the Main Street market on Saturday mornings to the Golden State Farmers Market Association run by Peter and Maia Cipponeri. The Cipponeris had applied for a street closure at the same time and place as the nonprofit Turlock Certified Farmers Market, which has run the event since it started back up six years ago.

Representatives of TCFM officially pulled out of the bidding process Monday, after a contentious four-month debate. Efforts to have the two groups work together, including a last-ditch discussion called by Mayor Gary Soiseth during Tuesday’s meeting, failed.

But a post on the TCFM Facebook page early Wednesday indicates the group still has plans.

“We are a market on the move, and we are looking for a place to land,” the post read. “We believe that Turlock can support two markets, each with its own character. We need a home, and we are asking for your ideas and/or leads, especially if it is on private or county property.”

Representatives of the nonprofit group could not be reached Wednesday.

Tuesday night, Soiseth and City Council members Amy Bublak and Matthew Jacob voted for the new market, saying they hoped both markets could put aside their differences and find a way to work together.

Council members Steve Nascimento and Bill DeHart cast the dissenting votes.

DeHart proposed a moratorium on having any farmers market this year, or ignoring the requested proposal and voting on the matter as it originally arrived, with two competing street closure permits. “I think we enter very, very shaky ground when we introduce a process when we already have a teammate,” he said.

“I can’t support handing over such a valuable asset of our community to someone with six months’ experience,” said Nascimento. He also questioned the viability of a newcomer when many existing market vendors have said they do not want the change.

Nascimento has consistently voted to keep in place the local nonprofit that has run the market for six years. TCFM was the second bidder, but did not provide requested information or documents regarding its tax status to the council and formally withdrew its proposal Monday.

Several TCFM board members, however, urged the council to grant the nonprofit sole rights to the downtown market anyway.

“You started this because you didn’t want a lawsuit,” said Patty Kapor. “But you may have started a lawsuit. You’ve awoken a sleeping giant in this community. I don’t think you know what you’ve done,” she said to loud applause.

Community members also rose to support keeping the nonprofit in place.

“Volunteers from all walks of life made up the backbone of that group,” said Scott Snyder, asking the council to find a way to vote in favor of the nonprofit even without a formal proposal. “Give them that option. It’s the right thing to do.”

Longtime resident Debbie Bailey, who helped craft and evaluate requests for proposals for the Modesto City Schools district before retiring, said request for proposals typically have an objective scoring method and a subjective section. While Cipponeri’s firm might have scored well in some areas, it would not have passed the discretionary pick, she said. “They clearly do not measure up.”

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 1:39 PM with the headline "Farmers market fight in Turlock could yield two events."