Crowds pack St. George City chambers over worry of council dropping support of farmers market

ST. GEORGE — The City Council chambers were packed Thursday with an overflowing crowd as people filled seats, stood along the walls and packed the foyer where a television was set up to for viewing the proceedings. Those who came were a mix of supporters of the Downtown Farmers Market and the local LGBTQ community who came to support the city’s continuing sponsorship of the weekly event.

Signs brought in by a supporter of the Downtown Farmers Market, St. George, Utah, Jan. 5, 2023 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

While the City Council voted unanimously six months ago to sponsor the Downtown Farmers Market and allowed it to move to Vernon Worthen Park, there was a worry that the council may vote to drop the market due to the objections of a council member who did not agree with the city’s subsidizing such events.

There was also an objection raised over what had been characterized by the same council member as a booth at a previous market event that promoted drag in a way that targeted children. Supporters of the farmers market, as well as some other council members, said this was a mischaracterization of what had actually happened.

The city would go on to renew its sponsorship of the farmers market for another six months in a 4-1 vote by the council.

Sponsoring the farmers market

The city’s sponsorship of the market comes in the form of waiving certain event and park-use fees. Kat Puzey, co-owner of the Downtown Farmers Market, told St. George News that the amount waived equated to approximately $50,000.

In addition to being able to use the Vernon Worthen Park location each Saturday (minus Saturdays it’s used for other major events like the St. George Marathon), the waiver helps the market keep overall fees for booths around $35. Without the waiver that would have jumped to $80, Puzey said.

The market itself has run for 15 years and originally was set up in the middle of Ancestor Square. However, the relative seclusion of the spot and the market’s continued growth prompted a need to relocate. The market currently hosts over 100 booths that represent area farmers, crafters, artisans and various small business ventures.

Attendees of the St. George Downtown Farmers Market shop local vendors, St. George, Utah, date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Ashley Tiller, St. George News
In this file photo, attendees of the St. George Downtown Farmers Market shop local vendors, St. George, Utah, date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Ashley Tiller, St. George News

The weekend event has proven to be “wildly popular,” Councilwoman Danielle Larkin said, adding that she had received several emails and calls in support of it.

The market is also a great spot for small business incubation, and that worked very well in its park location, Larkin said.

Councilman Gregg McArthur also praised the market and said he also had received many calls of “tremendous support” on behalf of the weekly event.

“I think we’re creating community when we do something like this,” he said.

Questions about park overuse and the impact on the local community came from Councilwoman Natalie Larsen who asked if it would be better for the market to relocate. The impacts included, worries that not everyone may be able to use the park that may otherwise want to on a Saturday, as well as issues of parking interfering with area residents.

Larsen also said she had been under the impression the city wasn’t making the park a permanent home for the market.

Puzey replied that relocating the market every few months would be an expensive endeavor as they would have to alert all of their participants and patrons about it each time.

It was noted by other council members that the park is still used on Saturdays regardless of the market’s presence, with Larkin adding she believes it enhances the feeling of community there.

“I can’t fathom how lucky we are,” she said. “I think that park is our most fun park and the farmers market has added to that. It feels like pure community there.”

A large crowd gathers at the St. George City Council chambers for a vote on the sponsorship of the Downtown Farmers Market, St. George, Utah, Jan. 5, 2023 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

The park still has to be used for other events on occasion, Councilman Jimmie Hughes said. There was a question of new events that may want to use the park as well, he said. Should the city tell them it was off-limits because the park was promised to the farmers market?

Larkin said she had wondered about that as well and suggested the council use the next six months to address that and other issues after approving the market to continue with waived fees.

While Larkin’s suggestion appeared to win the majority of the council’s consideration, Councilwoman Michelle Tanner said she was not comfortable allowing taxpayer money to be used to subsidize a private business.

Tanner’s objections

“I support the ability of small business to run a farmers market,” Tanner said, adding she had no qualms about it being in the park either. However, she objected to taxpayer money directly, or indirectly, being used to subsidize private businesses.

There should be people and businesses willing to privately sponsor the farmers market rather than have a part of it be waived by the city, she said.

Tanner’s argument related to concerns of the government “picking and choosing” what private business ventures to support through the use of subsidies, which could ultimately determine whether a business is successful or not.

St. George Councilwoman Michelle Tanner has objections to the city sponsoring the Downtown Farmers Market, St. George, Utah, Jan. 5, 2023 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Tanner proceeded to question Puzey about the farmers market and its connection to MoFACo (the Modern Farm and Artist Co-op).

Puzey said the Downtown Farmers Market had been run under the MoFACo name but was made a separate entity so it could be set up as a nonprofit.

Tanner gave her additional objections to the sponsorship. She said she received complaints that the farmers market had misused the city’s sponsorship to promote the MoFACo storefront and support an event that ran contrary to “community standards.” She also said the market had discriminated against a “freedom health group” that had a booth at a previous market and was told to leave.

While Mayor Michele Randall called for the council to return to discussing the merits of the market proper and not Tanner’s objections, Puzey asked that it be on public record as to what exactly Tanner was objecting to.

The event Tanner said went against community standards was a booth she said was a part of the farmers market via the MoFACo store that featured a person in holiday drag and inappropriately dressed elves that people could have photos with in order to raise funds for “all-ages drag shows” that was also targeting children.

“It does violate community standards if you are behind a closed curtain promoting drag Mrs. Claus and drag elves (and) come sit on their laps in exchange for money to raise funds for all-age drag shows in the community,” Tanner said.

Puzey replied that her group realized not everyone supports drag and that the booth was meant to simply be a photo opportunity via donations, to which Tanner said, “It’s not the fact that people don’t support drag, I think it’s when it involves children.”

Downtown Farmers Market co-owner Kat Puzey talks to the City Council prior to a vote on the event’s sponsorship, St. George, Utah, Jan. 5, 2023 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Puzey told St. George News the drag booth had been set up near the back of the MoFACo store – not as part of the farmers market – and it was separated from the public by a curtain. No one was forced to participate or was turned away. Moreover, she said the booth was in a private business that was not subsidized by the city like the market was.

The booth was a part of MoFACo’s Small Business Saturday event last November and was set up by members of Southern Utah Drag Stars. While this occurred in a separate location from Vernon Worthen Park, Tanner said the MoFACo drag booth event was advertised together with the farmers market over social media, therefore associating it with the market.

The back-and-forth between Puzey and Tanner was soon interrupted by Larkin.

“Mayor, I went up to this,” Larkin said. “The way Councilwoman Tanner is describing it is a complete mischaracterization of what happened. It is not at all what it was like. We need to get back to the reason why we are here, which is the farmers market.”

A call for a vote was made and the renewal of the farmers market sponsorship was approved in a 4-1 vote with Tanner being the single nay vote.

Some discussion on the market continued after the vote when Tanner asked about the discrimination against the Freedom Health Dixie group.

August Nelson speaks to the City Council about views that the city doesn’t support its LGBTQ community due to objection over drag, St. George, Utah, Jan. 5, 2023 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Puzey had previously described them as an anti-vaccination group.

Puzey explained that there can be no resellers at the farmers market and that the Freedom Health Dixie group had broken that rule. Items sold at the market must be of the seller’s own creation. The anti-vaccination group did not adhere to that rule by attempting to resell certain products at their booth and was subsequently booted from the market, she said.

Public comment was held at the beginning of the council meeting and included members of the local LGBT community giving statements similar to those in previous meetings related to last year’s “We’re Here” drag show.

Among them was August Nelson, a trans individual who spoke to the council in June when the performance of the drag was initially in doubt. He said he didn’t like having to speak to the council a second time.

“This City Council already tried to get rid of drag from city-owned spaces,” he said. “Now they want to remove from private ones. I could not think of a more infuriating and disparaging follow-up.”

Ashley Tiller, who also co-owns the Downtown Farmers Market, said the support from the LGBTQ community came from market organizers making the weekly event an inclusive space where all people are welcome regardless of their background.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

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