The Saint John Economic Development Committee voted Sept. 10 to run the Kris Kringle Market as a six-hour event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and to charge vendors the town’s full-day fee of $100.

Committee member Chuck Schultz, who led the discussion, said the town council had not approved an intended ordinance update that would have set a new fee, so the committee needed to decide whether to stick with the existing fee schedule or extend hours and collect the full-day rate. “The ordinance is not gonna be updated,” Schultz said, “so we basically have to decide, do we wanna stick with the normal 4 hours at 50, or do we wanna do something where we maybe do 6 hours and charge the full rate?”

The committee approved a motion from Schultz to hold the market 9 a.m.–3 p.m. and charge the $100 full-day rate; another committee member seconded the motion and members voiced unanimous assent. The motion includes vendor setup time beginning as early as 7 a.m. if vendors choose to arrive earlier and an allowance of roughly one hour for teardown before sunset.

Schultz and other committee members said the decision was driven by last year’s turnout and vendor feedback. The committee intends to keep the event layout similar to 2024 and possibly add one additional performer or an inexpensive guest attraction during the extended hours; specific bookings will be decided later. Santa is already scheduled to appear from 10 a.m. to noon.

Sign-ups will go live Sept. 15, the committee said, with an internal target deadline of Oct. 1 for vendor registrations to allow time to compile participating-business lists for a mailer. The Clerk’s Office told the committee that a small flyer (referred to as a “buck” flyer) can be inserted in the town’s November water-bill mailing; materials for that mailer must be delivered to the Clerk’s Office by Oct. 24. The committee plans to work with Shelby and town IT on online registration and a QR-linked map of participating businesses.

Committee members noted that Shelby and her team will vet vendors and manage layout and parking; the committee did not change the vetting process. The committee did not take any separate funding actions at the meeting.

No public comments were received at the meeting about the market, and members said planning will continue by email and at the next scheduled meeting.