City councilman revisits the

A letter that appeared recently in The Acorn questioned the accuracy of an Acorn news story about the Calabasas Farmers’ Market. The story was accurate.

The following facts uncovered by the city should set the record straight.

A dispute arose between the operators of the original Farmers’ Market and the new owner of the property on which it operated in Old Town. The operators obtained approval to relocate to the city-owned dirt lot by the future civic center—"rent-free."

Questions surfaced concerning the legal status of the market and whether it was properly insured. There were also health department concerns regarding health and safety violations on the dirt lot.

I contacted Phyllis Powers, one of the operators of the market, to ask whether she maintained proper insurance and whether the market was a nonprofit entity. She acknowledged that for a period of time there was no insurance and wasn’t sure the market was nonprofit. I asked for documentation. She said she would comply. When I called back to make arrangements, she never returned the call.

Out of concern that the city may have acted improperly in granting an emergency permit without justification, Mayor Pro Tem Michael Harrison and I obtained approval to direct the city attorney to investigate.

A letter from the city attorney was sent on Oct. 7 seeking relevant information. No written response has ever been provided. It was established that the market operated for a significant period of time without insurance and that it did not operate as a nonprofit entity.

The public has a right to expect that its public officials will exercise proper oversight of businesses that operate in our community. Honoring old friendships or political alliances are not part of the good government formula. And although an argument can be made to allow concessions for nonprofit entities performing a public service, the burden is clearly on such an entity to establish its nonprofit status.

On the other hand, to allow special treatment for a business that makes a profit, whether "the deal" resulted from poor oversight or cronyism, is to provide an unfair business advantage to one business over another and is not a legitimate exercise of regulatory authority.

One final note. Although these market operators never provided answers to legitimate questions, an individual who claimed to be associated with the operators did contact me to threaten that if we did not back off we would be the target of a negative publicity campaign which we would regret.

Mayor Pro Tem Harrison and I are pleased that the Farmers’ Market reopened in Old Town Calabasas earlier this month, where it belongs, under new management.

Barry Groveman

Calabasas City Councilman