A farmers market — a long lost Des Plaines tradition — may return to the city as early as next spring.
Ald. Patricia Haugeberg, 1st, and city manager Michael Bartholomew introduced the idea of a weekly Friday evening farmers market to aldermen at a recent meeting.
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Though it hasn’t existed in the city for roughly a decade, Des Plaines at one time hosted a weekly market run primarily by a changing group of civic organizations, Haugeberg said.
“It’s very tough if it’s just overseen by volunteers,” she said. “People start losing interest.”
The market Haugeberg has in mind would be managed by a licensed operator through a contract with the city, she said.
Haugeberg told the council that there will be “some expense to the city, not a great deal” for costs related to public works and police department involvement.
Vendor fees generated by the market could be donated to the Des Plaines Community Foundation, Bartholomew wrote in a memo to the council. Haugeberg said this week that the manager for the market also would likely be paid out of the fees collected.
The market, as envisioned by Haugeberg, would be located on the Ellinwood Street side of the train tracks in city-owned parking spaces from Pearson Street to the Des Plaines Public Library. If interest grows, it eventually could stretch as far as Lee Street, Haugeberg said.
Haugeberg said she would like to see tables manned by members of civic organizations as an added feature of the weekly market.
All council members appeared to be on board with the concept, so long as produce remained the primary focus of the market.
Ald. John Robinson, 2nd, said he had attended many farmers markets in the area and “some of them are hideous, you might as well go to the Allstate Arena.”
Echoed by his fellow council members, Robinson said the market should be limited to food and honey.
Ald. James Brookman, 5th and Ald. Dick Sayad, 4th, questioned why the market would be held on a Friday evening rather than during the day on a Saturday or Sunday.
Thousands of commuters traveling through Des Plaines via the Metra railway would be able to look out the window and see the farmers market on a Friday evening, Haugeberg said. She said the market would be an attraction for those heading home after a week of work.
Plus, she added, “there are many farmers that come into town that are already committed to Saturdays and Sundays” at other area markets.
Now that aldermen have agreed to the idea, Bartholomew said the next step would be to vet potential operators.
Jack Groat, who has operated the Elk Grove Farmers Market for three years, told the council that he is “greatly interested in running the Des Plaines farmers market.”
“I swear I’ll make it a success, and I hope I have the opportunity to submit a formal proposal — which we already have, but I’ll resubmit,” he said.
Groat’s enthusiasm was warmly received.
“What we’re looking for is guys like him,” said Ald. Mark Walsten, 6th.
Walsten and other members of the council directed city staff to issue a request for quotes from interested operators.
Still, Mayor Matt Bogusz wondered how the “true cost” to the city would be determined.
“Frankly, the first year would be some guesstimation,” Bartholomew said, adding that city staff would be able to arrive at a “pretty good estimate.”
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Haugeberg said after the meeting that it would be best to seek potential operators in January “at the very latest.”
“The most important thing to me right now is (the farmers market) starts off right so it continues to be the way it should be,” she said. “I don’t want it put halfway together.”