To the Editor-

I am writing to express concern on the recent news that the city of Stevens Point may be looking at expanding the downtown Public Square.

While it is true that we have more vendors “listed” to sell than we have available stalls, this does not mean that we do not have room for them. For a variety of reasons, vendors only come certain days of the week or parts of the season. We have not turned away a farm vendor for lack of space.

My main concern is the livelihood of the vendors. While Saturdays are full of costumers, the same is not true throughout the week. This means that the majority of profits are made on Saturdays. I fear that expanding would hurt the farmer’s bottom line.

My second concern is costumer experience. I believe our centralized market allows customers to experience a close-knit atmosphere where they enjoy fellowship with all the vendors. I believe that this is an appeal that could be lost. Parking is also an issue I already hear from costumers and imagine that if new stalls are added in parking spaces, this will only become a bigger issue.

Please understand why the Farmers Market Association has voted against this expansion. We would like to allow our existing vendors to continue to provide great produce and a great experience for our customers.

Jose Zaragosa
Stevens Point