City of Ann Arbor  
301 E. Huron St.  
Ann Arbor, MI 48104  
http://a2gov.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx  
Meeting Minutes - Draft  
Thursday, April 16, 2026  
5:30 PM  
This meeting will be broadcast live on CTN Cable Channel 16,  
ATT Channel 99. Online at a2gov.org/watchCTN. Public comment  
can be made in person only.  
Second Floor Council Chambers of City Hall  
Public Market Advisory Commission  
A
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CALL TO ORDER  
Chair Flores called the meeting to order at 5:34 pm  
ROLL CALL  
4 -  
Present:  
Absent:  
Lisa Young, Emma Hardy, Marcus Flores, and Karlene  
Goetz  
2 - Jeff Nemeth, and Will Brinkerhoff  
C
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APPROVAL OF AGENDA  
Commissioner Goetz wanted to add to the agenda a discussion of  
food truck music and generator noise  
FIRST PUBLIC COMMENTARY (AGENDA ITEMS ONLY) - (3 Minutes per Speaker)  
Vendor Debbie Marx said it was nice to have an in-person meeting.  
She’s a 35-year veteran of the market and Ann Arbor resident. She  
wants to push for more in-person meetings like it was before COVID.  
She mentioned that she thinks that aggressive soliciting in the  
market is becoming a bigger problem and wants to address it.  
E
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS  
Commissioner Goetz had questions about a typo and clarification of  
the number of weeks for the water main construction.  
G
REGULAR BUSINESS (AGENDA ITEMS)  
I. General Updates  
A. Staffing  
Welcome Back Lunia!  
B. Schedule & Events  
May hours & Wednesday Market  
Cooking Demos  
Flower Day May 24  
A2Zero Week Food Walking Tour June 3  
C. 2026 applications  
April 1 new vendors  
April 15 food truck rallies  
musicians & community groups  
A. Staffing  
Welcome Back Lunia! The only staffing update that market manager  
Stauffer shared is that Assistant Market Manager III Lunia Oriol  
returns from her city-mandated 2 months off this Saturday, April 18.  
She noted that now the market is at full staff capacity until Jade and  
Tyler go on their two months off in the fall.  
Commissioner Young asked a follow-up question about the market  
annual report. Stauffer clarified it would be available soon.  
B. Schedule & Events  
May hours & Wednesday Market  
Market Manager Stauffer shared that regular season hours of  
7am-3pm begin Saturday May 2. She also said that Wednesday  
Market begins for the season on May 6.  
Cooking Demos  
Stauffer also mentioned that the Cooking Demo series starts on May  
13 and takes place at 11am on the second Wednesday of the month  
during market. Like in years past, it is sponsored by a food safety  
grant by the Michigan Farmers Market Association and will continue  
through September. She mentioned as well that this year’s demos  
are highlighting local chefs and market vendors, with an emphasis  
on foraging and food preservation techniques. Stauffer said that  
June and August have been booked but market staff are still lining  
up people to lead the demos in May, June & September.  
Flower Day May 24  
Market Manager Stauffer said that this year’s Flower Day event, in  
partnership with the Sunday Artisan Market, is Sunday May 24,  
10-4pm. She also noted that Simply Spanish food truck will be  
attending and market staff is in the process of booking live music  
and organizing kids’ activities. The application will be available for  
vendors in early May.  
A2Zero Week Food Walking Tour June 3  
Stauffer shared that the market will be the starting point and a host  
of the A2Zero Week Food Walking Tour of the Kerrytown district. It  
will be on Wednesday June 3, and the tour guide will be Kate from  
Bev’s Bagels! We have invited community partners, members of the  
Sustainable Business Coalition, and other food businesses without  
a storefront close by to join us at market that day to celebrate local  
food and small business!  
Commissioner Hardy- checked to see that June 3 was a  
Wednesday.  
C. 2026 applications  
April 1 new vendors  
Market Manager Stauffer shared that the April 1 deadline for new  
vendors has passed and market staff received 75 applications so far  
for ~16 spots. She said she selected 16 new regular status vendors  
and 2 new mobile food vendors. Of that group, 1 regular vendor and  
1 mobile food vendor will be attending on Wednesdays only. She  
pointed out that all new vendors have been notified but that they are  
still working on sending out rejections.  
April 15 food truck rallies  
Stauffer said that the food truck rally application deadline was  
yesterday, but she is holding off on final selections until the meeting  
with the Braun Court redevelopment team next week, to give a full  
picture of what the space can accommodate.  
Musicians & Community Groups  
Stauffer said that market staff continue to add musicians and  
community groups to the 2026 market calendar.  
Chair Flores asked if there any community groups that market is  
waiting to hear back from that have participated in the past. Stauffer  
said no.  
D. LOGOS to CivicRec Transition  
Vendor invoicing process changes  
E. Facility & Repairs  
Project to repair market columns & bolts  
F. Neighboring Construction Updates  
303 Detroit Street staging  
4th Ave closure  
Braun Court redevelopment  
D. LOGOS to CivicRec Transition  
Vendor invoicing process changes  
Stauffer said now that all returning vendors application are  
processed, and staff are finishing up application processing and  
vendor orientations for the second round of acceptances, staff are  
gearing up to create yearly payment invoices in CivicRec. As in  
years past, annual vendors are required to pay their yearly stall fees  
by June 30 and can choose to also pay their parking fees yearly.  
Daily status vendors are also encouraged to pay their stall and/or  
fees yearly by June 30, but that is not a requirement. She noted that  
invoicing in CivicRec will make it easier for vendors to pay online,  
and it will make it easier for market staff to make any corrections to  
invoices in real time. She clarified that vendors can still pay their  
invoices to market staff in person on market days using cash,  
check, card, and mobile pay/tap to pay. She also emphasized that  
vendors can no longer pay their invoices at Customer Service in  
City Hall.  
E. Facility & Repairs  
Project to repair market columns & bolts  
Stauffer said that this project should begin in a few weeks, likely the  
first week of market, but they will not be doing work on Wednesday,  
Saturday, or Sunday market days. They are replacing 4 columns  
and some bolts, so minimal disruption to market days is anticipated.  
Commissioner Goetz asked if when they do that, will they repair the  
cement at the base of the columns?  
Stauffer said she is not sure if it is included in that specific project,  
but that it could be completed with Park Operations, if not the  
contractor.  
F. Neighboring Construction Updates  
303 Detroit Street Staging  
Market Manager Stauffer noted that the agreement between the  
developer and the city has been signed and that the fencing around  
their staging area should go up at the market soon, as well as the  
opaque barriers the agreement includes.  
Commissioner Nemeth asked about people walking through the  
sidewalk area and asked if we could direct the pedestrian traffic a bit  
better. He wants to make sure it is easier also for vendors to get in.  
Commissioner Goetz- wants to drive people down the long aisle to  
enter the market.  
4th Ave closure & Braun Court redevelopment  
Stauffer explained that she and Parks Deputy Manager Remy Long  
will be meeting with the Braun Court redevelopment team next  
Wednesday on-site to learn more details about the upcoming water  
main replacement and road closure of 4th Ave outside of the market.  
She said that they hope to gain more information about the timeline  
of the construction of the building then as well.  
Commissioner Goetz asked if they could tighten up the timeframe of  
the water main construction? She said she has spoken with  
engineers that are working in the field and they think that 6-8 weeks  
is too long, although she said she knows that replacing the bricks  
on the street will make it take longer.  
Commissioner Nemeth had another question about where the  
staging would be located and wanted to confirm that the sidewalks  
on Catherine and 4th Ave would remain open.  
H
NEW BUSINESS (NON-AGENDA ITEMS)  
Commissioner Goetz wanted to discuss food truck music &  
generator sound and noise level. She said there is a wide range of  
volume with the food trucks and hopes that the generators will be  
facing away from the market vendors since it is hard to hear the  
customers and the vendors.  
Stauffer said market would try to work with them to reduce music  
sounds and try to place generators further away from vendors,  
although our space constraints make that difficult.  
Commissioner Young asks if there are food trucks that will be able  
to plug into the market grid with potential renovations.  
Stauffer explained that the Office of Sustainability and Innovations  
(OSI) has been looking into solar generators for food trucks for a  
few years and have not devised a feasible solution yet. She also  
noted that pop-ups and food carts are already doing that, and by  
requiring food trucks to plug into the grid, it would put restrictions  
on what trucks can participate, due to cost, which would also  
restrict access to certain food types.  
RFP selection process- Market Manager Stauffer shared that the  
RFP selection process is underway for the community engagement  
process for market improvements. She said 15 proposals were  
submitted and that she, Parks Deputy Manager Long, and Parks  
Planner Adam Fercho are working on narrowing that group down to  
5 proposals. She explained that after the top 5 are selected, then  
other City staff will help narrow the pool to the best proposals. She  
said there are some very strong proposals from firms with a lot of  
experience working with farmers markets, and there would be a  
possibility of PMAC participation, if necessary, in the final process-  
more info coming soon.  
Commissioner Young said that was what she wanted to ask about.  
Commissioner Goetz wants to know if market staff can put up some  
sandwich boards in the market to let customers know that  
Wednesday Market is starting soon. She also wants to know about  
volunteers helping the ‘spruce up’ around the market and if that can  
happen soon. She also mentioned the great job that Assistant  
Market Manager Moss had been doing regularly to pick up trash at  
the market.  
Market Manager Stauffer said that that had been done somewhat  
when the holiday lights got taken down with help from volunteers.  
She also reminded all vendors to sweep and pick up after  
themselves at their stalls on each market day.  
Commissioner Young reminded everyone that the next meeting will  
be her last before she is term-limited at the end of MAY. She also  
pointed out that PMAC needs to recruit another daily vendor  
representative and will also need to find her replacement. She also  
cited an University of Michigan study that highlighted the  
importance of word-of-mouth recruitment for state and local political  
and board positions.  
Commissioner Hardy said she wanted to echo vendor Debbie  
Marx’s public comment about aggressive soliciting. She said that it  
was not just people asking for money, but also people with political  
petitions in the market. She also said she felt she has to be more  
conscientious about cash boxes based on where the stall she is  
working at is located in the market.  
Market Manager Stauffer emphasized that vendors and their staff  
need to contact market staff immediately if they are experiencing a  
disruptive person, and that can include calling the market directly  
from the vendor stalls. She explained the importance of this since if  
market staff are not informed, they are not aware and cannot  
address vendor concerns in a timely fashion. She also asked them  
to call the office immediately since we do not know that much about  
it unless we are notified that it is going on. She reiterated the other  
reason to call market staff is that they are trained in conflict  
de-escalation techniques and would much rather handle any  
potential conflict in a way that leads with empathy and compassion  
that does not make any potential situation more volatile. She also  
pointed out that she had personally told two petitioners they needed  
to step outside of the footprint of the market to get signatures last  
Saturday.  
Commissioner Nemeth said that aggressive panhandling is  
something he has witnessed specifically in the picnic table areas  
behind the market, adjacent to his regular stalls.  
Chair Flores reminded the body that one of the beauties of the  
farmers market is that it is accessible to all, and anyone is welcome  
to the farmers market. He also agreed with Market Manager Stauffer  
that it is important to make sure any instances of aggressive  
soliciting are approached from a conflict de-escalation framework,  
rooted in compassion.  
Market Manager Stauffer agreed and said that she hoped that the  
Unarmed Crisis Response team that the City of Ann Arbor has been  
working on for the last few years will be ready soon. She also  
pointed out that a partnership with the City’s harm reduction  
program Supportive Connections is underway. Specifically, she  
explained that the program will soon be creating their own version  
of the ‘community cash’ vouchers that their clients can trade in in  
the market office trailer for $5 market tokens. She noted that they are  
making a $500 commitment for the first iteration of the partnership  
which would begin in May.  
Commissioner Hardy asked about Dunbar Tower move-in and the  
‘welcome voucher’ program, and Stauffer said at least 3 residents  
have come to redeem their market token. She said more are  
anticipated once everyone is moved into the building by the end of  
May.  
Chair Flores asked about student outreach initiatives that the  
market has done in the past, targeting move-in and move-out times.  
Market Manager Stauffer mentioned the MSU FMPP research project  
we have participated in and how the lead researcher used part of  
their grant to purchase $10 in market tokens for each UM students  
who came to redeem them. Stauffer said it was a very popular  
initiative and market staff are always looking for more ways to  
engage students.  
Commissioner Goetz added that there are a lot of programs that the  
market can tap into with food assistance and is hoping more WIC  
participants will come down this year.  
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SECOND PUBLIC COMMENT (NOT LIMITED TO AGENDA ITEMS)  
Artisan vendor Debbie Marx said that her hearts go out to people  
who are struggling and is also concerned about how aggressive  
soliciting is negatively impacting customers. She said that Eastern  
Market has security, and they have a dual janitorial role at the  
market, but she knows that we don’t want a police presence and  
have security at Ann Arbor Farmers Market. She wants security to  
be hired for the market. Marx also said that Helen Bunch has tried to  
apply to be the daily vendor representative but was not able to do  
so yet.  
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ADJOURNMENT  
Chair Flores adjourned the meeting at 6:24  
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translation or sign language services or other reasonable accommodations may  
contact the City Clerk's office at 734.794.6140; via e-mail to: cityclerk@a2gov.org; or  
by written request addressed and mailed or delivered to:  
City Clerk's Office  
301 E. Huron St.  
Ann Arbor, MI 48104  
Requests made with less than two business days' notice may not be able to be  
accommodated.