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Home My WebLink About3.3 Farmers Market Recap STAFF REPORT CITY CLERK File #470-50 CITY COUNCIL DATE:October 16, 2012 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers FROM: Joni Pattillo, City Manager SUBJECT: Farmers' Market Report - Thank Sponsors, 2012 Season Recap Prepared by Linda Smith, Economic Development Director and Public Information Officer EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The City Council will present Certificates of Recognition to the sponsors and supporters of the 2012 Dublin Farmers’ Market. Staff will also offer a re-cap of the 2012 season and a look ahead to the 2013 Dublin Farmers’ Market. FINANCIAL IMPACT: None. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the City Council receive the report and present Certificates of Recognition. Submitted By Reviewed By Economic Development Director Assistant City Manager DESCRIPTION: During the 2012 Dublin Farmers’ Market, several local businesses provided sponsorship support to the Market. These sponsors included Foothill Chiropractic, Hillcrest Dental, KeyPoint Credit Union, Koboda Dental, Koko FitClub, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, SAP, and Specific Chiropractic Center. Additionally, the City received support from the Dublin Host Lions Club for the successful wine tasting events on our “First Thursdays” and throughout the entire month of September. The sponsorship of this year’s market enabled the City to enhance the typical farmers’ market experience with a host of activities aimed at building community and creating a healthy city. Staff wishes to thank this year’s sponsors for a great 2012 Market season. ITEM NO. 3.3 Page 1 of 3 Market Recap For the second consecutive year, the City of Dublin partnered with the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association (PCFMA), through an operating agreement, to provide the weekly farmers’ market for the residents of Dublin. The market ran from every Thursday from May 3 through September 27, and the City provided PCFMA with $10,000 towards its operation and marketing. There were two significant changes to the Dublin Farmers’ Market this year. The first change was moving the market from the Gleason side of Emerald Glen Park to the more visible promenade area adjacent to the children’s playground and corner water feature at Tassajara and Central. The second change was a new PCFMA market manager. This year’s market manager worked well with the producer and vendor community to ensure consistent and quality participation and he also worked to ensure that PCFMA offered additional activities to the market each week. The attendance at the 2012 Farmers’ Market showed improvement over the inaugural season, in termsof the consistency of weekly attendees. Last season, there was significant participation in the opening weeks and that participation declined steadily during the latter months, due in part to a decrease in producers and vendors. This year, Staff noticed a number of “regulars” to the Market each week, as well as new residents discovering the market. The consistency of producers and vendors also helped in keeping attendance steady throughout the season. Current estimates suggest that there were an average of 1,400 people weekly, which is about the same number estimated in the first year of the Market. Another factor contributing to attendance was the increase in communication and publicity of the Market. During the first six weeks of the market, Staff captured email addresses of attendees to build up the City’s news flash and events calendar subscribers, which is now more than 400 residents. PCFMA also sent out two postcard mailers to several thousand homes, offering “carrot cash” or the possibility of winning raffle prizes. The postcards, as well as coupons for “carrot cash” that were published in the “Your Town Monthly” circular, were turned in by hundreds of Market visitors. The social media presence on Facebook was increased as Staff was authorized by PCFMA to assist in operating the page. This allowed the City and PCFMA to provide continuous updates about the Market to 268 people who “liked” the page. In 2012, the City replaced “Healthy Dublin Night” with “Dublin Cooks Night,” a move that was well received by attendees. At every “Dublin Cooks Night,” the Cookin’ at the Market team held cooking demonstrations, which were well attended. Staff also put on a successful “Chili Cook- Off” in July. Plans are underway to make the “cook-offs” a regular event, by not only getting Dublin residents involved, but also by involving the Market’s producers. For example, during the summer months, when tomatoes are in season, a “Salsa Cook-Off” will be held. Staff will also work closely with the Wellness City Challenge organization to put together an Alameda County Mayor’s Cook-Off to take place at the Dublin Farmers’ Market in 2013. The “First Thursday” events were still the most well-attended nights of the month, but more so for the wine tastings than the concerts. While staged concerts were a nice enhancement to the Market, they rarely increased Market attendance, unless the band brought along its own entourage. Next season, Staff plans on limiting staged performances and utilizing smaller musical performances at our “First Thursday” events and position the musicians closer to the wine tasting venue. The Dublin Lions Club was, again, a tremendous help in pulling together the wine tastings each month, and in getting additional volunteers for the weekly wine tastings in September for “California Wine Month.” Staff did add a beer tasting event in early September, and will work to have more local breweries during the 2013 season. Page 2 of 3 As was the case with the 2011 market, “Family Night” was well-attended again this season. Being closer to the playground at Emerald Glen Park has only strengthened the attendance. On “Family Night,” in addition to having a clown and face painting, the City added a new balloon twister and a bounce house in September. The community groups that participated on these evenings also brought along crafts and activities for children. “Community Night” gave local groups and performers an opportunity to showcase their talents. Performances by the Wells Jazz Band in May and the Dublin High Jazz Band in September brought terrific crowds and these people also shopped at the Market while they were there. Next season, the market will again feature performances by local bands, cheer groups, dance troupes, and more. While the new location afforded greater visibility and compatibility with the playground area, parking for the Market became more problematic. There were conflicts between the producer and vendor set up and the preschool parents in the parking lot closest to the Market. During the Market, Staff had to retain the services of a traffic attendee weekly in order to maintain circulation in the parking lot. Complaints were received about having to walk a far distance from the larger Central Parkway parking lot and over pedestrian safety concerns since there isn’t currently an onsite pedestrian path of travel from that lot to the Market area. Staff and the traffic attendee encouraged parking on the Gleason side, which had pedestrian pathways and is, in fact, closer to the Market than the Central lot. In an effort to address this concern, Staff will continue to promote parking on the Gleason side and will work with Public Works staff on the possibility of delineating a temporary walkway area from the Central Parkway lot for those who still choose to park on that side of the Market. In addition to the above mentioned items, Staff recently met with PCFMA on additional enhancements in 2013. PCFMA will offer carrot cash purchases via debit/credit cards at the information booth. This will help those patrons who have run low on cash or prefer to make purchases used debit/credit cards. PCFMA will also be looking to add mobile food trucks at least once a month during the 2013 season. NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH: Not Applicable. ATTACHMENTS: None. Page 3 of 3