City addresses 'very concerning' allegations from same farmers market group seeking exclusive deal with city

The City of Saskatoon says it will again open up the downtown farmers market building to competing proposals, casting further doubt on the future plans of the site's current tenant, the Saskatoon Farmers' Market Co-operative.

The city's announcement, made Monday at city hall, came during a tense and occasionally dizzying city council meeting.

Representatives of the co-op publicly accused the city of being biased against the co-op during a previous request-for-proposals (RFP) process while simultaneously asking the city to abandon plans for a new RFP and instead directly negotiate a long-term lease allowing the co-op to remain at the River Landing site on 19th Street W.   

The co-op also asked, in the event its market moves to a new suburban site, that the city put a non-compete clause in place at the River Landing building "so that SFM co-op can build up its markets at the new site."

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"We are the only entity in the city that is capable of operating an authentic farmer's market," said the co-op's president and board chair, Adithya Ramachandran. 

"The public does not just want [any] farmers market, even an authentic one. They want one operated by SFM… This cannot be replaced and this has to be respected by the city."

'Doesn't give us very much hope'

Last year the city issued an RFP calling on an operator to keep the River Landing site busy with an array of attractions during six days of the week. 

The co-op has called the building home for 12 years, running a popular market of local growers there on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays.  

But as councillors heard Monday, ongoing discussions about offering more than a farmers market — a possibility contemplated in the co-op's lease with the city since 2014 — have reached an impasse.

Erika Quiring, the co-op's executive director, said that during the 2018 RFP process — which was ultimately cancelled because of needed repairs to the market building's roof — "we prepared and submitted a proposal that met all the conditions of that RFP and, whether formally or informally, were told that our proposal wouldn't stand a chance again."

"That doesn't give us very much hope."

Quiring then said the co-op felt the past RFP process was "biased" against the co-op. 

She also expressed concern about the city potentially encouraging some of the co-op's vendors to break away from co-op in favour of joining a new operator at the River Landing site.   

'Very concerning' allegations

City councillor Ann Iwanchuk called Quiring's allegations against the city "very concerning."

"That's certainly not what this council is aiming for, nor the administration," Iwanchuk said. 

That then prompted a break, after which city manager Jeff Jorgenson flatly rejected Quiring's claims directly. 

"That is very untrue," he said of the co-op's allegation of city bias. "The only bias we have is that we want to make sure that we faithfully carry out council's expectations for animating the site."

Jorgenson also denied that the city discouraged the co-op from submitting a future proposal. 

So what now?

The city expects to issue a new RFP for a market building manager shortly. That RFP will specifically call for a farmers market to operate at River Landing at least two days a week. 

The previous RFP in 2018 attracted proposals from both the co-op and Dale MacKay, a chef and co-owner of the Grassroots Restaurant Group, which runs Ayden Kitchen and Sticks and Stones

In the meantime, the city will finalize its plans to repair the market building roof, which is only about 12 years old.

"We didn't get a very good product here," said councillor Randy Donauer.

Lesley Anderson, the city's director of planning and development, said the repairs may take two to three months beginning in early 2020. 

The co-op has previously said it would not submit another proposal to the city. But Quiring signalled a potential change in thinking Monday. 

"We may choose to submit another proposal if it comes to the point….where the Saskatoon Farmers Market is forced to compete with some newly expanded farmers market that the city decides to install at the site, then of course we will fight for that." 

Councillor Darren Hill pointed out that the co-op could continuing to operate the market at the River Landing site under a new site manager. 

"We would need full access to the site, and we would need more stability and security from the city because we need that to grow our co-op and strengthen it," Ramachandran said of the scenario. 

The co-op, which has been in operation for 44 years, currently counts around 100 members and is the largest market in the province, according to Ramachandran. 

Don Kossick, a member of the Friends of the Saskatoon Farmers' Market Co-operative, delivered a message to city councillors bearing the recently-acquired signatures of 920 people. 

The message calls on the city and the co-op to "enter into a mutual discussion and meaningful negotiation to maintain and further develop and support [the market]."

No specific location — whether at River Landing or a new suburban site — is mentioned. 

Councillors expressed a concern about there being no market ready to operate at River Landing after the roof repairs are done. 

A city staffer said the city would work with the potential winner of the new RFP to make sure there is an outdoor market in the adjoining Market Square. 

"In the absence of that, the administration will work to curate that space to ensure we do have a farmers' market component operating in the spring."