Council weighs Tomato Days expenses and a plan to sell concrete ‘tomato’ sculptures to raise funds

Hooper’s centennial Tomato Days featured prominently in the July 17 work meeting. Staff described an offer to purchase concrete tomato sculptures for resale at Tomato Days and explained the upfront costs and operational constraints.

Staff reported the vendor can fit 24 small and 20 large sculptures on a truck and estimated a total truck/shipping cost of about $9,200 (all tomatoes included). Proposed retail prices mentioned in the meeting were about $3.25 for a large tomato and $1.75 for a small (staff said the vendor previously charged $300 for large and $150 for small in earlier years and the new pricing represents an increase to cover shipping). Staff cautioned that large sculptures weigh roughly 900 pounds and small ones about 300 pounds; the vendor can produce at most one large unit per day. For those reasons they suggested presales to ensure truckloads would be sold and discussed possible alternatives (hollow plastic molds that could be filled with sand to reduce shipping weight).

Councilors and staff also discussed operational risks: upfront payment required to order the truckload, the time needed for production (about three weeks), and the staff time required to sell and store heavy items. Staff proposed this be handled as pass-through (purchase then resale) rather than a long-term budget appropriation.

Council asked staff to research local manufacturing alternatives, presale demand and whether a hollow/plastic option could reduce shipping and handling issues. No final purchasing decision was made at the work session; staff was asked to return with more precise cost estimates and presale interest.