Councillor ‘saddened’ by Hamilton Farmers’ Market resignations

City council has reduced the minimum required number of members on the Hamilton Farmers' Market board amid a rash of resignations.

Three can now carry on the business of the board council decided Wednesday, down from the seven that was required before.

Coun. Esther Pauls said she was saddened" by the four latest resignations from the downtown institution's governing body.

They were great people. They had a lot of passion toward the market and I will miss them," said Pauls, who is council's liaison on the board.

The four ex-members offered different reasons for leaving.

In her Feb. 7 letter, former chair Elly Bowen said she was disappointed" to not receive an advance copy" of a consultant's report into the governance of the market and a council motion to explore private operation.

The fact that the board was given no opportunity to comment before the vote speaks volumes as well."

Bowen wrote she has advocated for a governance review, adding the dysfunction" has caused many qualified directors to resign" from the board, which includes vendors and citizens at large.

The role of the board has been made redundant with the city entrusting strategic visioning to a consultant and declaring their interest to outsource the operation of the market."

The board has been relegated to being a minor player in the conversation on the future of the market and directed to focus on daily operations."

In a Feb. 25 resignation letter, acting chair Damian Wills said he felt unable to impart any effective change or support the vendors in a meaningful manner as a board."

On Wednesday, Pauls said it's been a hard couple of years" for the board.

And the main reason is they have no vision. There's no commitment right now to see where the city's going."

In February, council backed Eisenberger's motion for a vision and role" review of the 185-year-old city-owned market that explores private operation.

At the time, the mayor said goal was to make it better, stronger and more sustainable over the long run."

The market, which has been hard hit by a downturn in traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic, relies on city dollars to operate. It recently lost a $125,000-a-year corporate sponsor.

There has been conflict on the board and friction with the city, including after a governance shakeup in 2014.

The visioning exercise overlaps with an existing governance and operations review by consultant Optimus SBR.

That study follows a scathing report by another consultant, 2WA Consulting Inc., that pointed to dysfunctional governance practices.

Longtime produce vendor Shane Coleman is critical of council's use of consulting reports and the upcoming visioning exercise. We spend a lot of money on consultants."

Coleman also questions the role of some citizen members who have served on the board.

Sometimes I just feel like the citizens, they're not involved. It's not their livelihood," he told The Spectator.

During Wednesday's meeting, Coun. Tom Jackson asked if there was an effective board membership left," also noting another member had resigned ahead of the four most recent departures.

There are five left, but with the bare minimum set at three, quorum is reached with two at meetings, clerk Stephanie Paparella noted.

It's too close to the Oct. 24 municipal election - after which a new board will be appointed - to recruit replacements, she said.

I think the importance is they want to continue to function as a board," Eisenberger said.

Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com