Red Deer city council says farmers’ market will need to move location this season

An alternate site has not been secured yet and as the market is operated by a privately owned business, the City cannot control or dictate where it is located; they say they can only aid and encourage. The Moffatt family has run the market for the past 52 years.

The decision came following debate with the Red Deer Curling Club (RDCC), located at the Pidherney Centre, which did not support the market’s location.

RED DEER CURLING CLUB

In a letter to the City, the RDCC’s Board of Governors Director Reg Radford says they have been at the location since 1954 and the site was renovated in 2018 with the Servus Arena to host larger community events. With an operating budget of $1.2 million, they say they can no longer survive as a seasonal winter facility. They also state there is a demand in the city for event spaces following the closures of the Red Deer Lodge, Kinex Arena, Cambridge Hotel and the Black Knight Inn. However, they say they cannot rent out their facility when their parking lot is used 22 Saturdays of the year for the Market.

The RDCC claims their potential income from an “unobstructed atmosphere” is $154,000 per month and the Market does not provide them with any monetary compensation for the lost revenue.

Administration says the current lease agreement with the Market returns approximately $33,000 in revenue to the City to compensate for lost revenue and other expenses.

The Servus Arena and the parking lots are public facilities. The RDCC is a not-for profit organization and pays for half of the parking lots’ maintenance costs such as painting, sweeping and snow control.

THE MARKET

The Market moved to its current location in 1996. In 2016, the business was temporarily relocated to the Memorial Centre for three years to accommodate the construction of the Servus Arena.

“To be fair and equitable to everyone, there’s no reason why we can’t work together. If we’re bringing 2,000 people into the Market every week, those 2,000 people can have a good opportunity to learn about the curling club, to be patrons, to help out, to participate,” said Dave Flewwelling who was a vendor at the Market for many years.

The City did not renew their License and Operating Agreement after 2020, therefore expiring in October 2021.

The City says administration began working with the owner for a new site 18 months before the 2022 season opening. They say the owner voiced his desire to stay at the location but was willing to “entertain relocation”. They say they met with the owner 10 times and offered and created site plans, maps and renderings of vendor configurations for city and privately owned sites.

The City says in March 2022, the owner said they would no longer look for alternate sites and administration later agreed to a one-season only license for the location.

They say the item was revisited in July 2022 with the latest meeting between the Market owners, RDCC, administration and the mayor in January 2023.

COUNCIL

Councillor Doerksen voiced concern that renewing the lease would simply bring the problem back to council each year.

“I’m struggling with this one because I don’t want to lose what has been successful for over 50 years and put it as ‘the City decided this’, not that the owners of a business made a business decision to not do what they needed to do to preserve the longevity of their organization,” said Councillor Lee.

“We’re making assumptions that the City should be responsible for picking the location. I would argue the City is not, in any way, responsible for choosing a location. A business should choose the location that they want to operate in.”

Councillor Barnstable proposed that with the upcoming demolition of the Buffalo Hotel and Club Café downtown, the City can renew the license at the current location for one more season to potentially relocate the Market to the free space in 2024.

READ: Buffalo Hotel and Club Café to be demolished from Red Deer’s downtown

Councillor Bruce Buruma proposed paving the parking lot across the Pidherney Centre to become a new location for the Market. However, council deemed this option would not solve the insufficient parking issues.

According to the City, the current agreement allows the City to be able to cancel the Market or designate parking spaces to host special events at their facilities with a three-month notice. They say the clause has never been invoked.

While the City says demand for regular and reoccurring community use of the Servus Arena on Saturday mornings has been low May through July, City Manager Tara Lodewyk says it is too early to determine if that is because residents are unaware of the opportunities. Administration says mid-August to October are busier at the Arena and the RDCC say they have had to deny inquiries for larger indoor events due to the necessity for Saturday parking.

Regarding Capstone, administration said at times other events are hosted in the area on Saturdays, more paving would be required and construction from development may soon begin in the area.

However, Councillor Dianne Wyntjes said remediation between the two parties can solve the issue as she claims both groups feel misunderstood by each other.

Councillor Michael Dawe said events have successfully happened at the Pidherney Centre during Market hours such as their community garage sales.

“My gut feeling right now is, I think we’re on the verge of losing the market, and I don’t say that lightly. We had something that ran really well for a long time but for a variety of reasons it’s been weakened,” he said.

The City says while the Market had been able to thrive in various locations, the RDCC owns their site and is unable to relocate operations.

“This is in no way a reflection of how the Moffatt family has run that amenity,” said the mayor. “For me, it came down to, we are stewards of a public space, we are stewards of a public amenity, and what is equity when you try and balance all of those factors.”

“We want the farmers market to continue, we want it to succeed and we want to put the resources behind it to make the best transition possible.”

Administration spoke to various stakeholders near the Rotary Recreation Park, such as the Red Deer Tennis Club, Baymont Inn & Suites, Red Deer Minor Hockey Commission and more, about the Market’s impact. They received varying points of support and dissent. The City did not speak to residents.

The Downtown Business Association said they would be highly supportive of the Market’s relocation to another spot in downtown.

Council discussed the need for a year-round downtown public market in Red Deer, which the City says has been an aspiration for years. Council approved for administration to provide them with options, including costing and models, for this market; however, it is undetermined who would run it.

The City says the Market is a “beloved amenity in our community.”

“The Market is a for-profit business that is considered an asset to downtown, but its impact on adjacent purpose-built facilities and uses continue to cause challenges at the site,” they said in a release.

by Alessia Proietti

Red Deer city council says farmers’ market will need to move location this season

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