Vendors and residents urged the Greenfield City Council on Nov. 18 to preserve the gazebo market as a community resource and to meet with vendors privately to resolve operational and fee disputes.

"The gazebo market is more than just a place to buy and sell. It's a gathering place for this community," said Marco Romero, a vendor whose family relies on income from the Saturday market. Romero and others told the council they have heard rumors that new managers plan to triple stall fees and exclude non-agricultural vendors, steps they said would make participation unaffordable for many families.

Brenda Garcia Figueroa, representing dozens of gazebo vendors, said two vendors were recently told they could no longer participate in a food-truck Friday after they raised concerns at an earlier council meeting. She and other vendors asked the council to schedule a private meeting so sellers could explain how changes would affect their businesses and household incomes.

"Please listen to their valid concerns," Garcia Figueroa said, asking that the city consider how market changes would affect both sellers and shoppers.

Longtime vendor Juan Wu told council members he supported keeping the market’s mixed identity — part farmers market, part flea market — saying the city’s demographic does not sustain a strict farmers-only model. "I don't want to see the market being marketed strictly as a farmer's market and then eventually having that concept dissipate," he said.

Councilwoman Ortiz, who acknowledged vendors' concerns and praised their conduct at public meetings, told vendors the matter deserved discussion and committed to arranging time for council and vendors to meet. "There has to be a happy medium," Ortiz said on the record.

The council did not vote on the gazebo market during the meeting. Several council members and staff thanked vendors for their role in community events and said they would follow up about scheduling a meeting to discuss the market's future.

What happens next: Council members said they will coordinate with staff and vendors to set up a conversation about market management and fees before the next season.