By Stephen Appezzato
FAIR HAVEN – Two big changes may be coming to the borough this year to improve residents’ quality of life.
A farmers market is in the planning stages, spearheaded by residents Diana Anttonen, Elise Casey and Maggie Ludman. At the recent governing body meeting Jan. 22, the trio presented their plans to the borough council for feedback.
In its current stage, the proposed market will pop up on Willow Street one Saturday each month from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. In conceptualizing the farmers market, Anttonen, Casey and Ludman discussed their idea with local farmers, officials and businesses.
The goal of the market is to promote local farmers and vendors in a way that engages and benefits the Fair Haven community.
“We want to support these farms. We have Sickles, we have a few other farms – one in Navesink, and one out west near Colts Neck,” Anttonen said.
While in its early stages, the trio set up a nonprofit and is exploring logistical matters, like insurance plans, waste removal plans, timing, public safety and vendor fees.
“A lot of the conversation we had was surrounding our small business district to make sure that the market directly influences and works with them closely,” said Anttonen.
With this in mind, they devised a booth fee structure where all vendors pay a $25 application fee and vendors from outside Fair Haven pay a $40 booth fee per month. Vendors from the borough will not be charged a booth fee. “We have to make it equitable for all these vendors, so that’s a price point that works well for them,” Anttonen said.
“We can’t go into this market and say, we’re going to get all this foot traffic, we’re going to need a billion garbage cans. We have to be very minimal in how we’re going to handle this because it’s a lot of unknowns,” she said.
One concern officials raised was how to mitigate disturbances the market may cause for the surrounding neighborhood and its residents. Casey, Ludman and Anttonen assured the council this would be unlikely.
“We have to give this group of people (vendors) who attend these things a lot more credit. They are well-oiled machines, they know what it’s like to come into people’s towns and sell their goods,” she said.
Casey, Ludman and Anttonen fielded all sorts of questions from the council, explaining their plan and further steps before the borough signs off.
“Coming into tonight I was skeptical,” said borough attorney and resident Andrew Sobel.
“I obviously want this farmers market. I think it’s great for the town, but at the same time we have a job to protect and make sure that all of the residents are served.”
The pitch ended positively with the council seemingly on board. Casey, Ludman and Anttonen will continue the due diligence and planning process and ultimately need formal borough approval before the market materializes.
In other news, after nearly a year of deliberation and consideration, borough officials are close to introducing a new brush and leaf policy in the borough to keep streets and storm drains clean, improve efficiency and offer residents more chances to discard their brush.
The new policy would establish new pickup zones numbered one through four, an option for residents to purchase a “green can” (like a trash can) to dispose of brush, rolling brush pick- up, and updated penalties for repeat offenders who violate the pickup schedule, among other changes.
The borough council has discussed the proposed policy for months, weighing the harshness of penalties and devising a strategy to educate residents on the new policy so they do not face unfair violations.
“There’s just a big learning curve,” council member Tracy Cole said. The brush and leaf program overhaul would take time for residents to understand its rules and schedule. But, “this could have a tremendous benefit,” she said.
Some council members supported establishing a grace period, where violators receive warnings while the program is rolled out during its first year. Punishments for violating the proposed plan include one warning notice, followed by fines and even municipal court summonses for repeat offenders.
“There’s no doubt about it, there’s going to be some complaining,” Mayor Josh Halpern said. However, “the old brush ordinance has been in place, it seems like forever, and it’s consistently violated,” Halpern pointed out. Issues surrounding improper brush disposal have led to clogged storm drain basins and cluttered roads in some instances.
The council is finalizing the new ordinance and anticipates it will be introduced in February. The borough council stressed the importance of informing residents of the brush overhaul, and will soon begin a large campaign to communicate the coming changes to residents if the ordinance is ultimately adopted. More information on the new brush program can be found on the borough website.
The article originally appeared in the January 25 – January 31, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
