Bayville village farmers' market may close

A farmers' market held in Bayville on summer Saturday mornings for the past six years won't take place this year unless someone else agrees to run it.

Mayor Doug Watson said the village-sponsored Green Market at the Bayville Commons in the center of the business district has become too much work for him, other village officials and volunteers.

Watson said that he and Deputy Mayor Kate Naughton last year were worn out by the workload of managing the market. "So we decided we would try to find another organization to run the Green Market so that it could go on," he said. So far, the Bayville Chamber of Commerce and Village Church have declined to assume the burden, Watson said.

"We want the market to survive," the mayor said. "It's very good for the community. But taking on that market is a big undertaking. We're looking for someone to step forward who is willing and has some money to back it up."

The village has purchased produce to resell while other vendors sold cupcakes, tomatoes, pickles, artwork and jewelry after paying the village a small fee.

The key requirement for anyone taking over would be having sufficient funds to buy and offer produce.

The other hurdle is insurance. The village has covered that in the past but now "in order for the village to allow someone to run the market without the village being there, each vendor would have to have their own insurance," Watson said.

Chamber of Commerce vice president Mike Carrozza said that for his 40-member organization to take over "would have been too much for us to do every week."

Said Carrozza: "It's going to be missed for sure. It was a nice offering that the village provided for the community."