Market moving to Pinewood Park

The Columbia Falls Farmers Market will have a new home this year. Pinewood Park will be the market’s third location since it was established here several years ago.

The Columbia Falls City Council on March 18 unanimously agreed to waive the user fee and deposit required for events held at city parks. This is the first year the market will be held on city land. It has been held at the Glacier Bank parking lot and at Discovery Square.

City manager Susan Nicosia said the cost to hold the market at Pinewood Park would have been $250 per event with a $350 deposit and a $60 administrative fee attached, totaling $660. If there was no damage and the site was cleaned up, the net cost would have been $310 per week.

Noting that the farmers market is a worthwhile community activity, Nicosia recommended waiving the fee and deposit if the market committee adhered to a negotiated users contract. The market committee is required to pay for portable toilets, an additional Dumpster and liability insurance. The new concessions stand at the pool will not be available until approved by the city building inspector.

Market master Cindy Shaw said the committee’s revenue comes from vendors paying a $2 per week fee and 5 percent of their gross sales. She said what little the committee takes in usually goes to advertising.

Shaw also noted that most of the vendors are Columbia Falls residents and don’t want to see their city park damaged. She said the market could move back and forth from the south side of the pool to the north side to limit wear and tear.

“I’d really like to see parents shopping and listening to music after they drop off their kids at the pool,” she said.

The market committee initially wanted to use Marantette Park for its Thursday event after it lost use of the Discovery Square location on Nucleus Avenue. City staff and the city parks committee, however, said parking was too limited at Marantette Park, which is also home to the Lions Club summer concerts on Thursdays.

“We need to try Pinewood Park and see how it works,” councilor Julie Plevel said about the parks committee’s decision. “I want to see the market return and continue.”

Plans call for closing Second Avenue West for two blocks along the former Pamida store for public parking, Nicosia said. The idea is that people who park there can walk west to the farmers market or east to the Lions Club concerts, she said.

Shaw said vendors will be asked to park two blocks away from the market to free up space for customers. Vendors with big rigs will park in the swimming pool parking lot, not on the grass, she said.

Nicosia and Shaw referred to the heavy use of Depot Park by the Whitefish Farmers Market and concerns about the resulting damage there.

“We really want to be on good terms with the community and not a nuisance,” Shaw said.

The Columbia Falls Farmers Market will be held on Thursdays from 4 to 7 p.m. The season will run from June 13 through Sept. 12.