Geneva pushes later start for market

The Geneva French Market may not move far after all.

But some city officials would like it to open an hour later.

The Geneva City Council, meeting as a committee of the whole Monday night, tentatively approved a new five-year contract with Bensidoun USA, the company that runs the warm-weather market.

But before the contract is officially approved next week, it instructed downtown development coordinator Carolyn Dellutri to ask the market if it would consider pushing back its start time to 9 a.m., to be nicer to people living near the market.

The market has been held the past few years on the site of the former Seigle lumber yard and a city parking lot on Third Street at Crescent Place, near the Metra train station. A new condominium-and-shopping building is going to be constructed there this spring, so the market had to move. Staff suggested moving it to one of several city lots south of the Union Pacific railroad tracks. But UP is worried that's unsafe, as people may walk across the tracks to and from the market and other Third Street shops and restaurants. And if it were held in the city lots there, UP, which leases the lots, wants the right to cancel the French Market with 30 days notice.

Fifth Ward Alderman Paul DesCoteaux suggested having it on the top deck of the new city parking deck to the north of the tracks, but Dellutri said Bensidoun doesn't think that is visible enough.

Instead, the market will be moved farther to the west and north in the city lot north of the station.

That worries Richard Liesendahl, who lives on the 500 block of South Fourth Street. He told the council that as it is now, the noise of vendors arriving and setting up on Sunday mornings at 6 a.m. disturbs him, and it will be louder if it is closer. He also thinks people will park along Fourth Street and climb over a berm to get to the market.

Vendors have been allowed to start setting up at 6 a.m.

"We're still residential over there and we don't appreciate the noise," Liesendahl said.

"We need to be more vigilant (at policing the noise). Because when he's woken by these people, I'm woken up," said 5th Ward Alderman Craig Maladra. The market is in the 5th Ward.

Alderman Ray Pawlak suggested the set-up time change to 7 a.m., which is the time that construction work is allowed to begin weekdays and Saturdays.

The French Market runs from early May through the end of October. It started out in a parking lot on North River Lane. It has been most successful on the Third Street space. And shops and restaurants in the Dodson Place center across Third have changed their hours, opening earlier on Sunday, to take advantage of the crowds drawn to the market.

The market features produce vendors, bakers, artists, jewelers, home-party-product vendors and more. It is meant to resemble the open-air municipal markets in France.