Public engagement on the future of the Parkville Farmers Market has begun.
As of last week, the city has received input from more than 650 interested parties according to director of public works Alysen Abel. The board of aldermen discussed its partnership with Confluence at its Tuesday, Aug. 2 meeting at city hall.
Confluence, a planning, design and landscape architectural firm, provided public engagement services during the recent update of the city’s master plan. With this familiarity, the city tapped Confluence again to handle the public engagement and design of the project to build a new farmers market. Two truck strikes to the decades-old, second-hand building in late spring and early summer proved the death knell for the existing farmers market structure at English Landing Park.
The farmers market has since been operating as usual on Wednesdays and Saturdays across the city parking lot near Main Street.
Ideas of what to build in the market’s place have varied from a simple roof structure such as the current market to a full building that could be rented for special events.
Confluence accepted input from the public to determine next steps in the planning process.
Mayor Dean Katerndahl said he has heard from members of the public who expect another simple replacement.
Abel said even a “glorified shelter building” required public input and funding, a process that had already begun before the truck accidents put the market project near the top of the to-do list.
Also at the meeting, new blood was added to the Community Land and Recreation Board (CLARB).
“In order to maintain geographic balance on our commissions we asked some people to step down when their terms were over,” Katerndahl said.
Michelle Flamm was reappointed to the board through May 2025 and Nathan Akren and Mary Kuehn were newly appointed to serve, into 2024 and 2025, respectively.