PMAC: surge in vendor applications; staff cites MDARD permits, stall limits and orientation bottlenecks

Lisa Young, chair of the Public Market Advisory Commission, opened the April 17 meeting and received a staffing and vendor-applications update from market staff member Stephanie.

Stephanie said the commission has received 57 applications since January, compared with 37 for all of last year, and that staff has accepted 17 new vendors so far. “We have accepted 17 new vendors,” she said, noting many new applicants are already scheduled for orientation or have begun operating. “It is a very high volume.”

The commission was told the primary outstanding item for returning vendors is licensing from the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (MDARD). Stephanie said MDARD’s food-establishment licenses run on a schedule that does not match market deadlines; she told the commission the MDARD cycle for some food licenses ends April 30. “We’ve reached out to everyone that has licensing that we still need, and we’ve gotten a lot of them back,” she said.

Why it matters: The volume of applications affects stall availability and staff workload. Stephanie told commissioners she estimated about 24 fewer occupied stalls than last year before new admissions and said staff is prioritizing vendor classes the market needs, such as farms and services customers request.

Commission discussion and staff follow-up

Commission members asked how the influx affects stall availability and whether orientations could be grouped to reduce staff time. Stephanie said orientations currently run about 15–30 minutes per vendor and are done by phone or Zoom unless an in-person meeting is requested. She said the commission is considering opening application windows (for example, closing new applications after May 1 and reopening in late summer) so onboarding can happen in batches. “If we have a more streamlined schedule, it’s a lot easier to do that,” she said.

A PMAC member asked about inspection timing under city rules; the member said city code requires inspections within six months. Stephanie said the market is looking to hire or reinstate an inspector and that the city has paused some inspection work pending facility decisions tied to the market office building demolition. Commissioners said having an inspector is important to enforce a producer-only policy the producer-only subcommittee is drafting.

Public comment and clarifications

Vendor Debbie Marks, speaking during the second public-comment period, said she has been a market vendor for more than 30 years and raised safety concerns about a tripping hazard near stalls 141–142. She also said she was glad staff was pursuing solutions for birds in the market roof structure but warned nesting season reduces near-term options for installation.

What remains open: staff must continue to collect outstanding MDARD licenses, finalize a plan for group orientations or application cycles, and confirm a schedule for performing vendor inspections once city staffing and demolition timelines allow.

Ending: Commissioners directed staff to continue processing documentation and to report back on inspection staffing and any changes to orientation scheduling at the next meeting.