No one is saying much but the Cramahe Farmers' Market has returned to its traditional location on the north side of King St. E. in Colborne. The Jacksons and Van Egmonds had their stands up on Wednesday morning, the day set out in the Colborne bylaw passed in 1993.
The return of the vendors to the location they held up until mid-summer last year appears to support the view held by Cramahe Councillor Pat Westrope at the July 14 township council meeting.
At that meeting Councillor Westrope and Township Bylaw Officer, Jim Harris, got into an animated discussion over the validity of the 1993 bylaw. It was Mr. Harris's initial contention that bylaws passed by councils prior to amalgamation had to be ratified or they were no longer valid. He was partially correct, but not for this situation.
Councillor Westrope was surprised and expressed some scepticism at his suggestion.
Despite the uncertainty of the validity of the 1993 bylaw, Council chose to pass a new one on July 14 without consulting the provincial municipal affairs office in Kingston - but Cramahe Now did.
It appears, too, that the township failed to listen to the vendors who stated their clear preference to a market on the north side of King St. E., opening in the morning.
Penny Sharman, Municipal Advisor Municipal Services Office-Eastern Region, directed the blog to the Municipal Act e-guide. It states that any bylaw passed before amalgamation by the former Township of Cramahe or Village of Colborne is no longer valid if the bylaw was no longer permitted in 2003. But the township still has the power to enact a farmers' market bylaw - the 1993 bylaw has not been repealed, so it is still in effect.
Now, all that is needed are some customers to make the market viable and to keep the farmers here.
Anita Jackson and a happy customer consider the baskets.
Good luck with your market
ReplyDeleteGreat Blog - good information - found from a link in the Burd Report ... I'll be back.
ReplyDeleteCheers
Dave Chomitz