A Summit County councilman on Wednesday told organizers of the Park Silly Sunday Market they are wise to consider other locations than Main Street for the street fair. But he stopped short of suggesting they move to the Snyderville Basin.
“I think you are astute to look at other options because a little competition never hurt anyone, and it sounds like it’s the city’s to lose,” said County Councilman Chris Robinson, speaking in the aftermath of the apparent breakdown of talks between City Hall and the Silly Market. “There are other options.”
One of the Silly’s Market key figures recently told members of the Park City Council she was considering moving her event off Main Street after City Hall refused to endorse a proposal for a long-term contract between the Silly Market and the city. City Hall officials say they are not prepared to move forward with a long-term arrangement because a study showed the market has had mixed effects on Main Street businesses.
The current one-year contract with renewal options is not acceptable to market organizers, said Kimberly Kuehn, a cofounder of the event.
“For the city to come to me and say, ‘One more year,’ it’s really, really hard for me to get my media contracts and my sponsor contracts again,” Kuehn told the Summit County Council.
But Kuehn said she needs a location big enough for artists, craftsmen, performers and restaurateurs. The Silly Market currently occupies lower Main Street and some side streets in Old Town, however, parking lots at Redstone Towne Center or The Canyons could perhaps fill the need.
“I have heard gossip coming back from people you have talked to that are just salivating over the possibility of having you move off Main Street,” Summit County Councilwoman Sally Elliott told Kuehn this week.
Kuehn said several interested parties on the West Side of Summit County have approached her about hosting the Park Silly Sunday Market.
“I can’t discuss that right now, but I have to tell you that the venues in Summit County have been such a huge surprise to us,” she said in an interview after Wednesday’s meeting. “We’ve learned so much about the county [and] here we are at County Council just introducing us and letting them know that we have been in their territory nosing around.”
A merchants association at Redstone said they have approached The Boyer Company, the Redstone developer, about the possibilities of the Silly Market moving to Kimball Junction.
“We are looking at all of our options,” Kuehn said.
She said she plans to make a decision about where to hold next year’s market after the holiday season.
In its third year, the Silly Market drew about 90,000 people in 2009, according to Kuehn.
And many of those visitors were from the Snyderville Basin and Salt Lake City, Kuehn explained.
“In order for us to secure sponsor and media contracts, we need to have more longevity We’re really, really looking forward to a great partnership, collaboration and stronger growth for our community,” she said. “This is not a one-weekend event. It’s a four-month event The power and the strength of execution really is a big play to put this on.”
But Kuehn said she has been unable to negotiate the long-term contract with City Hall.
“When we left the City Council meeting, they were giving us a one-year track with a five-year option,” she said. “We were really taken aback by that.”
Merchants in Park City are divided between those who want the Silly Market to remain and those who would like to see the festivities leave Main Street.