Western Wake Farmers Market Lease
At a glance
- What: the town's lease and partnership agreement with the Western Wake Farmers Market, Inc., which operates at Town Hall. The market submitted a proposed renewal package on August 10, 2026, including a white paper on how other Wake County towns partner with their markets.
- Where it stands: on September 22 the council pulled the lease extension off the consent agenda, argued about whether to talk in open or closed session, took the financial terms in a closed session (attorney-client privilege), and then approved resolution 2026-330-0 authorizing a lease agreement with the market, 7-0. The captions do not make clear whether this is a short extension or a longer lease.
- Next: staff and the market agreed to meet monthly on the renewal proposal; one council member asked that staff set a timeline so the next agreement is settled before the July 1 expiration, with the council able to amend the contract earlier.
Main concerns
- Open versus closed discussion: some members wanted dollar amounts and contract terms discussed in closed session; others wanted the discussion public so the market could hear it.
- Financial terms: what the market pays the town and what the town provides; one member said she needed answers before approving.
- Avoiding repeated short-term extensions.
People
- Janice Crawford (market board president) updated the council and introduced the new market manager, Kelly Howard.
- Harrison Kesling, Vicki Scroggins-Johnson, Anne Robotti, Ashit Patel and a Johnson (attribution uncertain) took part in the process debate.
Discussion time
About 17 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-09-22 - Town Council Regular Meeting | 17 |
Log
- 2026-09-22 - Town Council Regular Meeting — Lease extension pulled from consent; process debate on open versus closed session; closed session on the terms; resolution 2026-330-0 authorizing a lease agreement approved 7-0. Market board president gave an update and introduced the new manager.
- 2026-07-28 - Town Council Regular Session — Janice Crawford and a vendor and a youth volunteer spoke in public comment about the market's impact, including almost 6,000 pounds of food donated over 19 months (from auto-captions).