Des Plaines officials want to bring back downtown farmers market
Des Plaines aldermen want to bring a farmers market back to town, but how it will be operated and who will run it are still to be determined.
First Ward Alderman Patricia Haugeberg has led a renewed effort for a farmers market in the city's downtown. She's proposed holding it beginning next summer from 3 to 7 p.m. Fridays on Ellinwood Street, between Lee and Pearson streets.
Haugeberg said a Friday afternoon market near the train station would attract not only commuters, but also farmers, many of whom have already committed to Saturday or Sunday markets elsewhere.
"I want this done right from the get-go so that it will continue to be a successful event for the next 20 years or however long," she said.
The city council this week agreed to send out a request for qualifications document to those who may be interested in operating the market.
Jack Groat, who operates the Elk Grove Village Farmers Market, has already been in discussions with Haugeberg and city officials. But so far he's expressed reservations with a draft license and operation agreement that he argues gives the city too much control.
"You're making an administrative nightmare," Groat told aldermen Monday. "You've got to make it relatively simple, and have an operator contact various people to run the farmers market. I swear I'll make it a success and I hope I have an opportunity to submit a formal proposal."
Groat, who runs Bensenville-based Freight-Base Services, a trucking company, has also expressed interest in purchasing the privately-owned Des Plaines Theatre.
He has suggested modeling a Des Plaines market after the one he manages in Elk Grove Village. That market operates as a nonprofit and is under contract with the village for use of public land, but otherwise maintains its own operations. Groat said he even brings in a truck for garbage collection.
He indicated he already has commitments from five farmers who are interested in a Friday afternoon market in Des Plaines.
"This is what we're looking for is guys like him," said 6th Ward Alderman Mark Walsten. "Why don't we do a (request for qualifications) immediately, have him submit and people like him submit right away, and they can tell their story and let's pick one."