Pair debate ins and outs of market.

Byline: Edward Russo The Register-Guard

Two people with deep roots in the Lane County Farmers' Market have very different wishes for the popular seasonal marketplace.

Farmer and market vendor Richard Wilen wants an indoor, year-round market. But printmaker and market pioneer Lottie Streisinger wants the market to remain outdoors and operate only during the spring-to-fall growing season.

Wilen and Streisinger brought their debate to the City Club of Eugene in the Downtown Athletic Club on Friday.

The open-air Farmers' Market, set to begin another year on April 7, is at East Eighth Avenue and Oak Street. It operates across the street from the Saturday Market from April to mid-November; by itself on Tuesdays from May through October; and on Thursdays at the Lane Events Center from June through September.

The debate between Wilen and Streisinger continued a discussion that has ebbed and flowed in recent years as market enthusiasts try to chart the institution's future.

The market is popular, but it only attracts a small percentage of Lane County's 300,000-plus residents, said Wilen, owner of Hayhurst Valley Organic Produce in Yoncalla, about 50 miles south of Eugene.

The sidewalk venue is often crowded, and "cold and rainy weather makes shopping less than a pleasant experience," Wilen said.

"Simply put, the vendors lose too much money when the weather is too hot, too cold or too rainy."

His vision: a two-story, wood and iron, Northwest-style building where farmers and other food producers sell their wares.

Such a market would attract customers who aren't patronizing the current site, Wilen said. "It behooves us to adapt to the way they want to shop," he said.

An indoor market would draw people from around the region, nurture local entrepreneurs, showcase Eugene's organic character and counter the sameness of national chain stores, Wilen said.

Farmers don't have the money for such a building, so local governments and private donors would have to pay for it, he said. He didn't speculate on how much it would cost or where it should be located.

But, Wilen said, the public investment could be justified because the market would help the local economy, plus "enhance our sense of community."

Streisinger founded Saturday Market in 1970 and helped get the Farmers' Market off the ground.

She said the Farmers' Market should remain outdoors because that helps make it special.

The outdoors "keeps us in touch with the seasons and the things that are growing in this fertile valley of ours," Streisinger said.

An everyday market would run counter to one of the Farmers' Market rules, which requires people who sell at the market to be the farmer or a member of his or her family, Streisinger added.

A year-round operation would require salespeople, she said, "and you would lose the personal touch, which I think is an incredibly important aspect of the market."

Awnings could be put over the market to shield customers from the rain, Streisinger said. Satellite locations, perhaps one in Springfield, could help farmers reach more customers, she said.

Also, the Saturday Market would suffer if the Farmers' Market moved to a building in another location because they contribute to each other's business, Streisinger said.

"Separating the two would be a great loss for both of them," she said.

Meanwhile, construction crews are finishing a major renovation of the market's Eighth Avenue site.

Sidewalks have been replaced, including an expanded plaza with pervious concrete, which lets rain drain through. A raised platform and steps that were a potential tripping hazard and a rock wall that limited the area's size have been eliminated, said Noa O'Hare, market director. A new lawn has been planted, and electric and water connections and phone ports will help farmers conduct business, he said.

The city expects to spend about $300,000 on the work.

When the market reopens on April 7, shoppers should be less crowded and more comfortable than they were previously, O'Hare said. "It's been like a cattle chute for people," he said.