Melinda DeGraff: Turlock Council didn’t do its job
As I ponder the activities of the Turlock mayor and city council (excluding Steven Nascimento) regarding the farmers market, I am concerned about their ability to make future tough decisions on our behalf. Repeatedly Mayor Gary Soiseth and the council told the community that they created a “request for proposal” (RFP) process to avoid a lawsuit and make the process fair and unbiased – so they could make a fair and informed decision.
Both the Turlock Certified Farmers Market and Golden State Farmers’ Markets Association followed the steps but the mayor and the council refused to choose in their March 15 meeting. Although I did not agree with the process, I did expect the mayor and council to follow through. As elected officials, their job is to make tough decisions for us, the community. Not all will be easy, and not everyone will be happy, but that is your job!
Melinda DeGraff, Turlock
Editor’s note: The council awarded the farmers market location to Golden State Farmers’ Market Association in its March 22 meeting.
This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Melinda DeGraff: Turlock Council didn’t do its job."