Quincy may get farmers market
Charles H. Featherstone/Columbia Basin Herald Quincy residents Macaiah McCreary and Chelsea Putnam make their case for a Quincy farmers market Tuesday even evening before the city council.
QUINCY — Chelsea Putnam and Micaiah McCreary have a dream for Quincy.
They want Quincy to host its own farmers market.
“I wasn’t born and raised here, but I want my son to have a good life here,” Putnam told the Quincy city council Tuesday evening.
The two unveiled their proposal to the city council for a June through September farmers market on 13th Avenue Southwest in the Lauzier Park amphitheater twice each month that would allow farmers and merchants to sell fresh produce, baked goods, handmade goods, and even cooked food.
“Our proposal is to provide a community gathering place,” McCreary said. “Lauzier Park is a good location, there’s lots of parking, bathrooms, exposure, and traffic.”
McCreary and Putnam said they hope to have the farmers market up and running beginning this June, but would like some help from the city council securing permits to use the park – or finding an alternate location if using Lauzier is not possible – and putting the farmers market under the city’s liability coverage.
Putnam said that general liability would cost the farmers market around $590 per year on their own, but they could save about $200 if they could be covered under the city’s plan — coverage they said the farmers market would pay for out of vendor fees.
“The city’s insurance carrier makes that decision,” said City Attorney Allan Galbraith. “The state constitution forbids cities from giving away money.”
However, both Galbraith and City Administrator Tim Snead said they would look into covering the farmers market.
Both Putnam and McCreary said the market would join the state’s farmers market association, giving the Quincy market access to cheaper publicity and web hosting and holding the market to “the highest standards of quality.”
Putnam and McCreary were already seeking out vendors, had designed a logo, and were prepared to bear any costs associated with establishing the market on their own.
“We’re relentless, and we’re not going to stop,” Putnam said.
“I think this is a good idea,” said city council member Paul Worley.
For the two women, establishing a farmers market holds true to Quincy’s agricultural heritage.
“Quincy has always been known as a farming community. … It will bring people together,” Putnam added. “We want the community to grow more than it has.”
Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.