Organizers of the Frost Shop activation said they have secured a lease for the entire dirt lot bordering Mercy Hospital and are preparing the site for vendors, seasonal markets and community activities.

The project lead, Zav DuBois, told the committee that a neighbor, Richard Donovich, agreed to let the organizers lease the full lot, rather than only the half closest to the hospital. DuBois said a conditional use permit (CUP) dating to 2012 already exists on the property, which reduces the need for a new permit but requires the organizers’ plan to align with the 2012 conditions.

Why it matters: the extra space gives organizers more room for vendors, beverage and food services and programming they say will help activate downtown. But county and state rules about parking and site improvements are still being resolved, and organizers estimate operating costs will exceed vendor fees for at least the first season.

DuBois described a recent county action that helped reduce up‑front costs: he said the Board of Supervisors voted three Tuesdays earlier to waive a $3,800 permitting fee that would otherwise have applied. DuBois also said county planners flagged a 2012 condition requiring a number of parking spaces; he said organizers negotiated with a local landowner (identified in the meeting as Richard Goughton) to count 17 spaces on a nearby parcel so the lot itself would not lose activity space. He said staff planner Steve Eng is being asked to approve that exception.

On vendor operations and fees, DuBois said the committee set a sliding scale of $15 per day for “Made in Mariposa” vendors; research he cited showed comparable California markets charging $15–$40. He said some vendors who are expanding will pay monthly rent rather than daily fees, and that organizer-run vendor infrastructure (electricity, trash, property work) pushed projected monthly operating costs to about $3,800. DuBois said organizers expect a loss this season and likely the next, but prefer the lot be used consistently rather than sit idle.

Site improvements described to the committee included a 5‑foot ADA path planned to be installed in the next two weeks, a new water purification fountain, repaired ingress/egress and fresh wood chips as ground cover. DuBois said vendor operations will be managed online via managemymarket.com; food vendors must upload appropriate county permits and resale numbers to the platform and pay by card so licensing and payments are tracked.

DuBois said Jake and Hannah, local vendors building a beverage truck for the lot, will locate near the Mercy side. He said they are adding refrigerated shelving in their cooler so local farms can stage CSA boxes and restaurants can retrieve produce; organizers gave temperature dimensions from farmers and said refrigeration will be maintained at the state‑required range of about 38–42°F for cold food storage. He said the refrigeration will also allow Jake and Hannah to sell local beer and wine and house CSA pickups inside the vendor area.

Organizers discussed programming uses: the lot includes a stage with doors that can close to create an indoor feel, which could permit plays, town‑hall events and performances. DuBois said amplified sound and other events will require further coordination with county staff and potential neighbors; he said organizers will work on sound plans and any necessary approvals.

On parking and traffic, DuBois said portions of curbside spaces adjacent to Mercy Hospital are used informally for parking (including ambulances), but are not formally counted as legal parking in the county’s review. He said Caltrans told organizers they expect a plan for preventing parking on the highway-facing edge of the lot; DuBois said he declined to take on long‑term enforcement responsibility and asked the agency to address highway parking.

Discussion vs. decisions: DuBois asked county planning staff to approve counting 17 parking spaces on the adjacent parcel; that request was described as an action in progress, not a completed permit change. DuBois also announced that regular vendors who already have county food permits may occupy the lot immediately. The committee did not take formal votes on land use or funding during the meeting.

What’s next: organizers said they will continue negotiating parking exceptions with planning staff, complete the ADA path and refrigeration installations, finalize a vendor management and licensing workflow on managemymarket.com, and recruit volunteer help to run the site. DuBois asked for volunteer capacity to scale operations faster than he currently can alone.

"We have full space usage over on the Frost Shop lot side," DuBois said. "We don't have to worry about that taking up space leaving more for vendors and activities."