CALL TO ORDER

Chair Flores called the meeting to order at 5:33 pm

ROLL CALL

3 - Lisa Young, Marcus Flores, and Karlene Goetz

3 - Jeff Nemeth, Emma Hardy, and Will Brinkerhoff

Present:

Absent:

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

A motion was made by Young, seconded by Goetz, that the Agenda

be Approved as presented. On a voice vote, Chair Flores declared

the motion carried.

FIRST PUBLIC COMMENTARY (AGENDA ITEMS ONLY) - (3 Minutes per Speaker)

No public commentary provided.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS

Edit made to the section about bird netting

REGULAR BUSINESS (AGENDA ITEMS)

I. General Updates

a. staffing

b. 2026 applications

March 1 returning vendors

April 1 new vendors

April 15 food truck rallies

musicians & community groups

c. LOGOS to Civic Rec Transition

d. Facility & Repairs

e. Neighboring Construction Updates

a. Staffing

Market Manager Stauffer said that Assistant Market Manager Oriol

went on her 2 months off yesterday and will be returning in mid-late

April. Stauffer noted that she had done a lot of work to streamline

the application processing systems before leaving. The market

manager team is now three: Stauffer, Whittaker-Mitts, and Moss

b. 2026 applications

March 1 returning vendors

Market Manager Stauffer said that March 1 is the application

deadline for returning vendors. She said that as of now, 27 annual

vendors still need to submit. She said that there are also a bunch of

daily vendors that still need to submit their applications ahead of the

deadline.

Commissioner Young asked what percentage of the new daily

vendors from last year are returning, and Stauffer said that she did

not have the exact numbers in front of her, but it is roughly 75% as

of then.

Commissioner Goetz asked about the process for having to fill in

new info and whether next year the applications could be pre-filled,

or if not, if vendors could have a copy of their previous year

application to help fill it out more easily.

Market Manager Stauffer said that that is one of the changes with

the online application and she explained the very labor intensive

mail merge process that existed before and how difficult it was for

staff to complete previously. She noted that it may seem like more

work for vendors, but it is a great improvement for market staff. She

also said that she has received feedback from vendors who love the

new application, as well as others that struggled to complete it. She

pointed out that she has helped vendors complete the online

application both over the phone and in person, and that market staff

plans on providing the previous year application to help vendors

complete it. She also mentioned that one of the drawbacks of the

previous process is that many vendors were not updating their

application with the correct product lists, contact information, staff

details, and more, so the new process also help the market to have

the most accurate information.

April 1 new vendors

Stauffer said that the market had received 42 applications so far

from new vendors, with 9 accepted, including 2 mobile food

vendors. She also noted how the acceptances had been agreed

upon by market staff through consensus, with a more formalized

process for assistant market managers to provide feedback than

before. She also explained that the optimal number of new

acceptances would be ~12, plus a couple additional mobile food

vendors, and that this assessment is based in experiences from last

season, combined with trying to be cautious about potential

reduction of space due to construction pressures this season.

Commissioner Goetz asked what the product mix of the newly

accepted vendors is, and stated that vendors with the most

diversified products lists tend to have the most success and

longevity at the market. Stauffer agreed and added that another

litmus test for success for new vendors is whether they know other

current vendors are already feel part of the community, although

that is not to say we don’t welcome vendors with no ties because

we do and they quickly become part of our community.

April 15 food truck rallies

Market Manager Stauffer said that market has received 16

applications so far for the food truck rallies, with about a 70/30 split

of returning to new food trucks, carts, and pop-ups. She also noted

that market staff always gives priority to returning vendors but will

add new vendors as space allows. She specified that they had not

handed out any official acceptances yet since the current focus is

on returning vendors and new vendor applications.

Musicians & Community groups

Market Manager Stauffer said that market staff had received 4

community group applications and 3 musician applications so far.

She mentioned that the TedXUM student group already started to

attend last week & will be at market again this week, and that they

are promoting their event on campus like they have done the last 2

years. She said there is no deadline for applications for musicians

and community groups.

c. LOGOS to Civic Rec Transition

Stauffer noted that the original CivicRec launch date of 1/24 had

been postponed until 1/31 due to the extreme cold weather and lack

of vendor and patron attendance on that date. She said that market

staff seem to have a good handle on the market day token sales and

vendor token receipt processing aspects. She did say that market

staff receive incorrect information in their initial training about the

cashout and cash deposit process and have had to change their

workflow accordingly. She pointed out that the main reason she

wanted to use CivicRec initially is to get more control over the

invoicing process, including the ability to edit vendor addresses,

invoice amounts, etc. Vendor invoicing is the last part of the

process that will be transitioned to Civic Rec later this spring, in

preparations for the June 30 yearly payment deadline.

d. Facility & Repairs

Market Manager Stauffer reiterated that repairs were coming up for

the support columns for the roof and replacements for some of the

bolts that hold the columns in place. She said that the schedule is

still aiming to be done before Wednesday Market starts in May. She

noted that the bird deterrents are still in a wait and see process. She

said that from what she had observed that they were not working,

with birds landing directly above them. She also shared that

vendors had told her about the mesh that used to be in the roof

spine but had been removed from unknown reasons. Chair Flores

echoed that sentiment since vendors had also told him the same

thing. Stauffer revealed that her supervisor Remy Long will be

submitting call for proposals (RFP) next week for the market’s

community engagement process. She mentioned that it would be a

12 month process to complete, and once that visioning concluded

the City would focus on rebuilding the office. She also encouraged

PMAC members to emphasize the need for a new market office, in

addition to winterization plan, with their comments in the community

engagement process. Commissioner Goetz said she was glad to

hear that they are going to work on the posts to stabilize the facility

and that that RFP is moving forward. Commissioner Young said that

hopefully people will give feedback to rebuilding the office and other

things in the process.

Market Manager Stauffer also mentioned that the trailer will be

painted to make it look nicer, and since market staff lost a few sign

banners in the wind storms this winter, it will also help share

information without worrying about losing more banners in

subsequent wind events.

e. Neighboring Construction Updates

Stauffer mentioned that she is still waiting for more info about the

Braun Court development.

She shared that she received notice from the City that MAVD will still

be staging their materials in our pocket park after all due to road

closure prohibitions from other projects. Commissioner Goetz said

it would be nice to have a sturdy fence that looks good, which

would be different than what there is now. She also said that

anything to get the word out about market being open during the

construction projects can help.

II. Officer Elections

a. Chair

b. Vice Chair

Market Manager Stauffer officially announced the results of the 2026

officer elections:

a. Chair- Flores

b. Vice Chair- Goetz

NEW BUSINESS (NON-AGENDA ITEMS)

Commissioner Young mentioned the issue with a March in person

meeting due to lack of space in City Hall. She wants to know if

PMAC members can shift it to April? Since half the commission is

absent, she wants to wait until next meeting to discuss.

Commissioner Goetz wants to know if we want to schedule out

other 3 in person meetings during the next meeting as well.

Commissioner Young asked about the inclement weather

cancellation policy. Market Manager Stauffer said that focus of it will

be for dangerous weather events only and that there will be a

vendor waiver developed for people who think they really need to

be there if market staff cancels. Commissioner Goetz is glad that

that waiver will be available and wants to make sure market staff is

taking it seriously when cancellations occur since they can be

disruptive to vendor livelihoods. Stauffer assured her that she does

take it seriously and as a farmer herself, she is very careful to check

the weather from multiple sources, including radars, hourly

forecasts, NOAA projections, etc. Commissioner Young asked that

any changes adopted would be put into the operating rules and

Stauffer confirmed that they would.

SECOND PUBLIC COMMENT (NOT LIMITED TO AGENDA ITEMS)

Debbie Marx- veteran artisan farmers market vendor and Ann Arbor

resident said she wants to thank everyone for their work and

commitment to the market. She said that the live feed went black for

a portion of the meeting and when it came back on there was no

audio. She mentioned that she did not receive an agenda for the

meeting and reiterated that she wants to go back to in person

meetings. She said that she knows there are daily vendors who

want to apply for PMAC but can’t find the application online. She

said we also need inspections, and she wants them to happen

before new vendors start.

She also said we need proper restrooms for the customers, and that

needs to happen before we get a new market office and

winterization. She also thinks that the market doesn’t need an office

much bigger than what we currently have. She doesn’t think that it

is fair as well for all the construction to be happening all at once and

doesn’t understand why the City is allowing that. In closing, she

thanked Marcus & Karlene for taking on the roles of Chair and Vice

Chair and to thank Lisa for loving the market.

Market Manager Stauffer noted that Assistant Market Manager Tyler

Moss will be starting inspections soon and that the Agenda for the

meeting is always available on Legistar if an email is not received.

She also pointed out that unfortunately due to State law the City is

unable to pause developments, and that question is outside of the

scope of PMAC’s role.

ADJOURNMENT

Chair Flores adjourned the meeting at 6:33 pm

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