Market Manager's Moratorium Email Leaves Councilwoman 'Puzzled'

A St. Louis County Council committee intends to propose legislation later this year aimed at streamlining the permitting process for farmers market vendors, an official said Wednesday.

"The committee is still fully committed to finding a solution," said Eric Fey, who is the executive assistant to Councilman Pat Dolan (D-Richmond Heights).

Efforts to change the system began in April, when Clayton Farmer's Market manager Deborah Henderson contacted the county council. She and officials from other markets , arguing that the system is onerous and cost prohibitive for would-be vendors.

Market Manager's Email Returns Issue to Spotlight
The issue again entered the spotlight this week when Henderson emailed Dolan and the two other members of the county council's Justice, Health and Welfare Committee—Councilwoman Colleen Wasinger (R-Town and Country) and Councilwoman Hazel Erby (D-University City)—to express frustration over what she described as an "apparent reversal of intention."

Specifically, Henderson stated Fey contacted her Monday to say "the Committee has decided not to go forward with a moratorium on permitting fees for farmers market vendors to be applied to the rest of the 2011 calendar year."

At a meeting June 28, Erby said the . That came in response to market managers' request that the county abide by Section 150.030 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, which allows farmers to sell approved goods free of fees "provided, he does not have a regular stand or place of business away from his farm."

Council Members and Staff React to Email
Fey, Dolan's assistant, said the councilman favored such a moratorium. But in casual conversation with other council members, he said, Dolan realized it did not seem like they could reach a consensus on enacting a moratorium for the remainder of the season.

Henderson has been very collaborative and helpful to the committee tasked with proposing legislation on farmers market fees, Fey said. He said he and Dolan look forward to her help on the issue in the future.

In this case, though, Henderson "kind of got her hopes up."

"I think Deb's email was unfortunate," Fey said. But he later added: "I can understand Ms. Henderson's frustration. It has been a relatively slow, deliberative process."

Dolan said Tuesday that the committee has not made any formal recommendations regarding a fee moratorium this year. He said that he was out of town last week and Wasinger was out of town the previous week, which prevented the committee from meeting to discuss the fees. 

He expected the three to meet up Tuesday night when the entire county council convened in Clayton.

"The county's agreed to go ahead and stick with the state regulation," Dolan said. "Other than that, as far as the structure of the fees, we're trying to work on for next year." A single, yearly fee for vendors is one of the possibilities the committee has discussed.

On Wednesday, Wasinger wrote in an email that she was "puzzled and disappointed" by Henderson's email and that a moratorium on permit fees "was never the primary purpose of our Committee hearings."

She stated she has met with Dr. Dolores Gunn, director of the , about how best to craft legislation that streamlines the permitting process while addressing public health concerns.

"When market managers informed the Committee that the Department of Health was collecting permitting fees from some farmers in violation of Revised Missouri Statutes, I believe Committee members considered crafting a moratorium on that practice," Wasinger stated.

"However, Dr. Gunn informed the Committee that the Department of Health had discontinued collecting these fees. Further, she requested that, to the extent any farmer is asked to pay such fees, her department be made aware immediately so that the error could be rectified," Wasinger stated. "Since the inappropriate fee issue has already been addressed, the focus of my efforts has been to draft a bill aimed at streamlining the permitting process."

Email Questions Grocers' Influence
In her email and an interview this week, Henderson also questioned whether corporate pressure from Dierbergs and Schnucks prompted Wasinger and Erby to change their minds about a moratorium. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in July that the grocers had expressed concerns to the county's health department about the effort to lower fees.

Earlier this month, Schnucks spokesman Paul Simon said farmers market vendors should be held to the same fees for food preparation as grocers.

"Most of our produce, when we can source it locally, we do," Simon said. "We're huge customers of the local markets…But at the same time, I don't think that they should be excused from any fee that we have to pay."

He said individual Schnucks branches must apply for the same permits needed by market vendors in order to host barbecues, fish frys or other events involving food preparation.

He said Schnucks would be content with changes at the county level, provided they create a level playing field.

"We ask that they be treated the same as we are," Simon said.

In her email Wednesday, Wasinger denied the charge that the grocers influenced her actions.

"Your comment about the Committee not acting under pressure from grocery stores is absolutely untrue," Wasinger stated. "To my knowledge, no one on the Committee has been contacted about this issue by any grocery stores, and so your concerns in this regard are without merit."

Fey said the Post-Dispatch article took Dolan's office by surprise. It has not received any communication from supermarket operators, he said, and the health department hasn't forwarded any such correspondence onto Dolan's office.

Erby could not immediately be reached for comment on the farmers market fee discussion.

LOOKING AHEAD
Henderson, the Clayton market manager, said Tuesday that the latest turn of events in the market fees discussion is discouraging.

"I guess I feel disappointed that we're going in, even if they make a decision, there's probably two months left of markets," she said. Henderson said the farmers market fee discussion began in April when she contacted the county council with concerns about fees. From there, she said, Fey and Mike Chapman, executive assistant to Wasinger, contacted her and asked her to write a formal letter to Dolan seeking his assistance.

They told her Wasinger had heard of fee concerns at the Kirkwood Farmers' Market in 2010.

Since then, Henderson said, she has performed hours of research and met with council members individually. In the interest of time, she suggested a meeting with the three committee members. But she said Fey told her that wasn't possible because it would represent a violation of the Missouri Sunshine Law.

Henderson said if anyone asks her for additional information on market fees, she'll provide it to them. Otherwise, "mostly everyone is in full throttle managing their markets," she said.