The agency voted to defer rent for the farmers market through Dec. 1 to ease an immediate cash‑flow shortfall while the market awaits state grant reimbursements and continues a capital fundraising campaign. The resolution to provide the rent deferment carried at the meeting after a short discussion.

Market representative Monica, speaking to the agency, said the market holds its capital budget in a separate account but that the operating budget has been strained by parking costs and loan interest tied to a state reimbursement schedule. "By the end of the year, we'll have another $81,000 that we are obligated," Monica said, citing monthly interest and parking expenses.

The market has been renting an adjacent lot at Arnott; rent there began at $6,000 per month and was renegotiated down to $600 per month, Monica said. The market also has paid for parking attendants tied to that contract; Monica estimated attendant and related costs at roughly $40,000 per year. In addition, she said borrowing to cover interim costs has driven interest expenses that she estimated at about $16,000 per month.

Monica told the agency that the state grant program requires the market to front expenditures and then request reimbursement, a process she described as taking about six months for the market’s past reimbursements. She said the market used a loan from Farm Credit East to bridge construction payments but that the loan did not cover attendant or some other operating costs.

The market's fundraising campaign remains active: Monica said a separate capital fundraiser raised $600,000 that met the state match in 2024 and that the market organizers are currently seeking an additional $350,000 through a friends' campaign to cover outstanding obligations including roughly $200,000 of short‑term borrowing, $50,000 in campaign expenses, and a remaining $100,000 owed to the Park Foundation.

Agency members asked about timing and cash flow. A member asked whether the state would reimburse by Dec. 1 so the market could resume normal rent payments; Monica said she was confident that the market’s budget and ongoing revenue streams (weekly vendor fees and event rentals) would permit the market to remit the deferred rent when reimbursements arrive. She also said the city’s processing of state checks had improved in recent months.

Market staff and agency members discussed parking mitigation steps for visitors who cannot use the on‑site lot. Monica said the newly redone lot is about 90% complete and that final plantings, signage, striping and a small pavement correction remain. She said the market is preparing a map, with funding from a farm‑to‑fork CVB program, to show alternative neighborhood parking, bike access and walking routes for visitors.

The agency’s motion to defer rent through Dec. 1 carried at the meeting. The agency directed staff to record the deferment in its lease reports; agency staff said the market had submitted a check that will be handled consistent with the deferral decision.

For now, the agency and market staff characterized the vote as a short‑term cash‑flow measure. Monica said the deferral “will help ease the pain a little” and emphasized that fundraising and reimbursement timing will determine whether the market can fully restore normal operations and eliminate attendant and temporary parking costs.

The agency and market representatives agreed to continue monitoring reimbursements, fundraising progress and parking costs and to revisit financial decisions if reimbursements or fundraising fall short of the market’s current plan.