THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 24, 1996 TAG: 9610240321
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL REED, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 76 lines
The City Council got the message loud and clear Wednesday night from more than 150 people attending a 1 1/2-hour public hearing.
Keep the Farmer's Market where it is - at the corner of Dam Neck and Princess Anne roads - and make some improvements, while you're at it.
The rustic, 20-year-old landmark was partially destroyed in a fire Aug. 22, and council members have been wrestling with the problem of rebuilding the facility where it stands or relocating it nearby across Princess Anne Road.
Leading the charge Wednesday night for Farmer's Market merchants, some local farmers and a contingent of loyal customers was Michelle Shean, who helped gather 6,000 names on a petition to keep the market where it is.
``I have a vision of the Farmer's Market in the same location,'' she said. ``If you try to move it I'm not sure any of the businesses there will survive.''
After 29 people, including several longtime customers from Norfolk, rose to extol the virtues of the marketplace, Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf had a message of her own to impart to those who filled the council chamber.
``No one on this council even thought for one minute of doing away with the Farmer's Market,'' she said, adding that a council decision on its location would be coming soon.
It could be as soon as early December, said City Manager James K. Spore, following the hearing. That's when a study of proposed sites for the market will be handed to the council.
Sarah Miller, who helps the family-owned Bergey's Dairy outlet at the market, said she wants a bigger and better market. ``It has become a landmark,'' she said. ``I have a cousin in New Jersey who's seen news reports about the Farmer's Market. Tourists from 50 states and Europe have visited there.''
Norfolk resident Jean Stapleford said she and her husband have patronized the market for years to shop and enjoy the regular Friday night hoedowns.
``We absolutely do love it,'' she said. ``We stay after (the show) and listen to the pickers and the singers and we also shop in Virginia Beach and dine in Virginia Beach.''
The clean, family entertainment is a staple of the marketplace, said Berry Marple, spokesman for the Country Kickin' Western Dance Club, whose members also enjoy the weekend hoedowns.
``The marketplace is the heart and soul of the city,'' he said, adding that it's a safe and comfortable place. ``You can go out there with the kids, the parents and the grandparents.''
Tall, lean Jim Hysinger, a country-western musician, who has performed at the weekend shows for 17 years, stepped to the dais with ten-gallon hat in hand to plead for the restoration of the market on the site it now occupies.
``I've gone to that market for 20 years,'' Hysinger drawled. ``You can't find better people any place. You can bring your family out there. There's no booze and no problems.''
The Wednesday night hearing was sought by Councilwoman Reba S. McClanan, who represents the Princess Anne Borough encompassing the marketplace site, which is city-owned. McClanan made it clear before the session that she wanted the council to take immediate action to restore the market, even if only temporarily. The aim, she said, is to keep merchants from leaving for other venues or closing up shop altogether.
Other members, such as Vice Mayor William D. Sessoms and Councilmen Louis Jones and Harold Heischober previously have advocated eventual relocation as the best decision in the long run. They cite the pending development of a massive Virginia Beach Higher Education Center on an adjacent property and the increasing road access problems as reasons to move. ILLUSTRATION: Color L. TODD SPENCER photo
Eve Gonzales holds her baby, Grace, outside the City Council chamber
while Berry Marple, on closed-circuit television, addresses the
council in behalf of the Farmer's Market.
Color photo
Michelle Shean
Jim Hysinger<
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH FARMER'S MARKET by CNB