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Contact: Dennis Conti FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE McFALL RELEASES STATEMENT ON THE “I
rejoice at seeing the Market House beginning to come back to life and serve, as
it should, as the heart of our historic downtown community. As I have talked to voters all over the City,
the Market House has been the issue of greatest concern to them. The $4 million
of taxpayer money that the City has spent to regain control of and remodel the
Market House is a source of great concern and anger. Nothing is more important for the next Mayor
than to ensure that the Market House is up and running—and managed effectively
for long term success. I have found
among residents a strongly shared view of what they want the Market House to be
- a place where local businesses provide local products and foods, as well as a
fun place to enjoy related events and activities. The real
question is how to manage for long term success, and this involves three
things: ownership, governance, and operations. Ownership The City should continue to own the Market House and it
should own it to accomplish what the private sector acting alone cannot. The City, in consultation with the governing
Board described below, should set the overall budget for the Market House,
which should include costs for maintenance, operations and replacement
reserves. The City may establish broad policies and priorities, such as policies
that will promote small, local businesses who are able to deliver the goods and
services that people want, but cannot now get downtown. The Market House should add products and
services that complement existing offerings from downtown businesses.
Governance The Market House should be governed by a Board appointed by
the Mayor and City Council that will include citizens with practical expertise
in related business operations, as well as persons appointed by downtown
businesses and neighborhood organizations.
I support the recent efforts of citizens who have recently come together
to make recommendations on a Board structure - the Market House governing
structure needs to be based on such citizen and business input. The Board should set the operating policy for
the Market House, approve product and vendor selection, set rents and oversee
operations consistent with the City’s overall Market House budget, and select
the personnel to directly operate the building.
The City should participate closely with the Board, and the Mayor or his/her
designee should serve as an Ex Officio member of the Board.
Operations The Board should select an individual or firm that is
responsible for the daily operation of the Market House and for making
recommendations to the Board. This individual or firm should be thoroughly
vetted with a proven track record of successful market operations. Furthermore,
the person or firm selected should work under a one-year, provisional contract,
which could be extended for 5 years, and should include a termination provision
without compensation. The next Mayor and City Council should
have the full responsibility for establishing the Board, including setting the
policies. The Market House could stay
open and operate with temporary vendors pending rehabilitation of the building this
winter. That is appropriate. However, the current Mayor and Council should
not make the same mistake as was made four years ago when the faulty lease for
Site Reality was hastily and inappropriately approved by an outgoing Council. The new Mayor and Council should, therefore,
be the ones held accountable for the future of the Market House and they should
have full responsibility for determining that future.” By
Authority Friends of Trudy McFall: Miranda Darden, Treasurer
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