MONROE - The twice-weekly farmers' market will move from the downtown Square next year if organizers can't convince city and county officials that it won't disrupt parking and access to the historic Courthouse.
"This is just getting started as a topic for discussion," said Chief of Police Fred Kelley.
At issue is the market on Wednesdays, which blocks off one side of the inner parking ring around the Courthouse from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m., effectively cutting access to some handicapped parking and the county employee parking lot, and complicating overall access to and from the building.
County Clerk Mike Doyle said he received complaints about handicapped accessibility this summer from visitors paying taxes and doing other business in the Courthouse.
Some visitors warned they would file a complaint against the county for noncompliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, he said, and that has him worried.
On Saturdays, the market "is great down here," Doyle said. On Wednesdays, "it's just something that's not working well."
Market personnel tasked with setting out cones early Wednesday mornings to block cars from the area have forgotten on several occasions, Doyle added. As a result, cars are parked and left in the market area, and it creates a headache for all involved.
"Then they come looking for us to remove all of (the cars)," said Kelley, who as police chief is the default "referee" in the debate. He'd like to see the market organizers look into locations "that will address problems well into the future."
Some of the options currently on the table are Spring Square, a parking lot located one block off the south side of the Square, or in the market's previous home behind Monroe Middle School, at 16th Avenue and 15th Street.
But many of the vendors balk at the prospect of moving the Wednesday market.
Holding the market in a different location Wednesdays and Saturdays may confuse the public, said Kurt Kline, president of Market on the Square.
"We would very much enjoy staying on the Square," he said. If there's no choice but to move, "we'll gently pull up our stakes and move."
Others aren't ready to give up so easily.
"If they move us, you'd might as well kill the market," said Phyllis Perrin, who sells her jams and other canned goods every other Saturday and every Wednesday. "Here, we're visible."
Perrin said she's already looking into leaving the Monroe market and moving her stall to the Belleville, Oregon or Stoughton markets. She currently also vends at the Fitchburg market, and says that city in general is more welcoming to the farmers' market, by putting up signs advertising it and inviting in musicians to perform every week.
Richard Dauck, another Monroe vendor, said the problem goes deeper than Wednesdays and stems from changes a few years back to the parking downtown.
"They really messed us up when they took out the parking meters," he said.
The future of the Wednesday market won't be decided until next spring. Market organizers will need to get their annual special event permit past the Public Safety Committee before it goes to the City Council for final approval.
Kline said organizers will be meeting in November to formulate a plan of action.
"This is just getting started as a topic for discussion," said Chief of Police Fred Kelley.
At issue is the market on Wednesdays, which blocks off one side of the inner parking ring around the Courthouse from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m., effectively cutting access to some handicapped parking and the county employee parking lot, and complicating overall access to and from the building.
County Clerk Mike Doyle said he received complaints about handicapped accessibility this summer from visitors paying taxes and doing other business in the Courthouse.
Some visitors warned they would file a complaint against the county for noncompliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, he said, and that has him worried.
On Saturdays, the market "is great down here," Doyle said. On Wednesdays, "it's just something that's not working well."
Market personnel tasked with setting out cones early Wednesday mornings to block cars from the area have forgotten on several occasions, Doyle added. As a result, cars are parked and left in the market area, and it creates a headache for all involved.
"Then they come looking for us to remove all of (the cars)," said Kelley, who as police chief is the default "referee" in the debate. He'd like to see the market organizers look into locations "that will address problems well into the future."
Some of the options currently on the table are Spring Square, a parking lot located one block off the south side of the Square, or in the market's previous home behind Monroe Middle School, at 16th Avenue and 15th Street.
But many of the vendors balk at the prospect of moving the Wednesday market.
Holding the market in a different location Wednesdays and Saturdays may confuse the public, said Kurt Kline, president of Market on the Square.
"We would very much enjoy staying on the Square," he said. If there's no choice but to move, "we'll gently pull up our stakes and move."
Others aren't ready to give up so easily.
"If they move us, you'd might as well kill the market," said Phyllis Perrin, who sells her jams and other canned goods every other Saturday and every Wednesday. "Here, we're visible."
Perrin said she's already looking into leaving the Monroe market and moving her stall to the Belleville, Oregon or Stoughton markets. She currently also vends at the Fitchburg market, and says that city in general is more welcoming to the farmers' market, by putting up signs advertising it and inviting in musicians to perform every week.
Richard Dauck, another Monroe vendor, said the problem goes deeper than Wednesdays and stems from changes a few years back to the parking downtown.
"They really messed us up when they took out the parking meters," he said.
The future of the Wednesday market won't be decided until next spring. Market organizers will need to get their annual special event permit past the Public Safety Committee before it goes to the City Council for final approval.
Kline said organizers will be meeting in November to formulate a plan of action.