The Bella Vista Farmers Market, which has delayed opening because of concerns regarding covid-19, has been canceled for the season.
City council member and advertising and promotion commission chairman Doug Fowler said that this decision came as a result of a lengthy conversation among commission members.
"We worked really hard to make a responsible decision with all the information that we had in our hands. At the end of the day, we just didn't want to put people at risk," he said. "We wish that we didn't have to do this."
The market is supported by the commission and the city and does not generate enough revenue to stand on its own, he said. With a projected downturn in the city's sales tax revenue and the commission's revenue, which depends on sales taxes collected from restaurants and lodging, keeping the market would place unnecessary strain on both bodies, he said.
Further, it's hard to say if vendors and shoppers are likely to show up in the current climate and, while the covid-19 threat could recede soon, it's also expected to return in the fall, meaning the last few months of the season could also need to be canceled for public safety, Fowler explained.
"You've got to consider their health," he said. "This isn't just about me, this is about others I come into contact with."
Beyond these concerns are potential logistic issues, including the need to maintain social distancing and the standards vendors and organizers would be held to, and the possibility of needing a new venue if Cooper Communities proceeds with work on the Sugar Creek Center property, Fowler explained.
The potential benefit of a few months of hosting a farmers market with potentially limited vendors and shoppers for those vendors isn't worth the risk, he said.
The commission is currently compiling a list of vendors who paid for space at the market and arranging to reimburse them, he said.
"We hated it for the vendors, truly," he said.
While this year is out, the commission will discuss a 2021 market when the time comes, Fowler said.
General News on 05/06/2020