Park Ridge Farmers Market Committee Meeting - August 19, 2026
Park Ridge Farmers Market Committee Meeting - August 19, 2026
The Farmers Market Committee convened on Wednesday, August 19, 2026 at 6:30 PM at City Hall (meeting location corrected to Council Chambers). Key actions included approval of amended minutes, purchase of three new tents, and a decision to protect the market logo through updated operating rules rather than formal trademarking. Subcommittee reports highlighted successful marketing metrics and operational concerns.
Call to Order & Roll Call
- Members present: Stephanie Goodrich, Karen Grunch, Jessica Curry, Brenda Holcomb, D Winekey, Katie Daniels, Amy Nedich, Deion Dharmopoulos, Molly O'Keefe, Kelly Moonau.
Approval of Minutes
- Minutes from July 15, 2025 were approved as amended (correction of meeting room to Council Chambers and removal of duplicate paragraph). Motion carried unanimously.
Reports
- City Liaison Report: None.
- Market Master Report: Karen reported on the successful passport program with 100% vendor participation. Noted that last Saturday saw multiple vendor cancellations due to predicted bad weather; an email was sent reinforcing the rain-or-shine policy and that absences affect annual approval. Discussion on vendor generator concerns during rain.
- Market Manager Report: None.
Discussion Items
- A. Purchase of New Tents: Committee reviewed replacing the worn market tent, kids activity tent, and community tent with new Easy Up tents priced at $295–$299 each, including printed logo/name on the valance at no extra cost. Colors can be chosen to differentiate tents. Consensus to proceed with purchase of three tents.
- B. Logo Use Rules: Discussed adding protective language to the market's rules of operation for logo use, versus formal trademarking (estimated legal fees up to $1,000). Committee favored the rules update approach, which can be drafted by the city attorney and adopted for the 2027 season.
Action Items
- A. Approval of Tent Purchase: Motion made and seconded to purchase three tents (market, kids activity, community). Motion passed unanimously.
- B. Approval of Trademarking Expenditure: No motion was made; committee declined to spend funds on trademarking and will instead update operating rules.
Subcommittee Reports
- Finance: Nothing to report.
- Marketing & Communications: Amy shared lessons learned from the inaugural passport program (need longer lead time, simpler stamp/sticker system). Presented positive metrics: email open rate averaged 72%+ (benchmark 45–60%), subscriber base grew from 1,400 to 2,300; Facebook engagement up 482%, followers reached 9,020 (up 1,200 from last year); attendance for first six weeks was 26% higher than 2025.
- Operations: Tim reported that SBC is replacing garbage bins due to odor issues. Discussed vendor setup challenges (new employees unfamiliar with traffic flow) and ongoing parking sign confusion on light poles; will revisit with public works. Proposed bagging signs during market hours.
- Special Events: None.
New Business
- Amy presented a memorandum proposing a closer marketing partnership with the city, citing efficiencies and her upcoming term expiration in October. The proposal outlines rationale and potential division of responsibilities. Committee will discuss further at a future meeting.
Adjournment
- Meeting adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
Meeting for Wednesday, August 19th. Can I get a roll call, please? Roll call. Stephanie Goodrich? Here. Karen Grunch. Here. Jessica Curry. Here. Brenda Holcomb. Here. D Winekey. Here. Katie Daniels. Amy Nedich. Deion Dharmopoulos. Molly O'Keefe. We have older person, Kelly Moonau. Here. All right. The first order business is the approval of the minutes of our meeting from July 15th. Were there any comments or questions? Yeah. But first of all, I don't know how it happened, but starting back in maybe March, I just first noticed it should read City Hall Council Chambers, not conference room. And then on page two under A, you repeat you repeated the same thing twice. You see that where it says Commissioner Grunsch will explain. One says discussion and one says it's basically the same thing. Which one did you want me to remove? Huh? Which one did you want me to remove the first or second paragraph? Doesn't make any difference. Pick one. I think that was the other comments. Does someone want to make a motion to approve the minutes as amended? Oh. I'll I'll make the motion. Someone want to second. I'll second it. All right, it's been moved and seconded. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Abstain. All right. The next order of business is the citizens wishing to be heard on non-agenda items. I see no one. The next item is city liaison report. Anything? No, I'm sorry.
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