The South Haven City Council has granted a five-year contract extension to the firm that runs its farmers market. At a meeting in August, the council was considering the matter when it heard a few vendor complaints about LASR Property Management and opted for a tentative, one-year extension. However, farmers market vendors came out in force Monday night to tell the council they support the management team. One vendor with a lot of experience said the market is being run well.
“I’ve seen good managers, I have seen bad managers,” the vendor said. “I have seen unorganized managers, and I have seen organized managers. What I would like to share is that the way the market is run now does not even compare to the way it was when I first started.”
City Manager Kate Hosier said her staff did a survey of farmers market vendors and found most are satisfied.
“They had concerns about general operation, but not so much as the management,” Hosier said. “We did hear some in there about ways to improve management, ways to improve the market overall. But what I am seeing is a number of the vendors are very happy with…the management of the market.”
Hosier said they also did an audit of the market and found no issues. The council Monday approved that five-year contract extension with a few additions, including a new formal grievance policy and a policy about signage.
