Barryville farmers market moving?

Cul-de-sac use in question

By SANDY LONG

BARRYVILLE, NY — The farmers would like to stay there and town officials would like to let them, but the risk of hampered emergency access to the Delaware River has taken top priority in an increasingly complicated discussion about the location of the Barryville Farmers Market.

The popular market moved from its original location behind the River Market on Route 97 to the cul-de-sac last year, enjoying a surge in business due to increased visibility at the new location next to the intersection of routes 97 and 55. But problems surfaced early on, when Chief of Protection, Alan Henry, investigated the site on behalf of the National Park Service Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River (NPS UDSRR) and raised several concerns related to river access and the original intended use of the cul-de-sac.

Although the market remained at the cul-de-sac last summer, the matter has continued to smolder and recently reignited with the approach of this market season, which begins on June 12.

At its monthly meeting on April 14, Highland’s town board passed a resolution to allow the market to continue at its present location pending the successful outcome of a fire department drill to determine whether or not emergency vehicles could gain access to the river during the hours when the market is in operation.

At the town’s meeting on May 12, Yulan Fire Department (YFD) representative, Tim Schadt, said that the drill had been performed and that the vehicles would be unable to access the river with the farmers market in place.

Market manager Penni Buchal protested a lack of communication from the fire department. “If you had the drill, why didn’t you return my phone call so that I could have moved ahead with a different location and changed my advertising?” she asked.

Buchal and her husband, Pat Martinetti, also operate a stand at the market and have already advertised the market at its current location in various media outlets and promotional materials, some of which can not be corrected now.

Martinetti questions Henry’s treatment of the situation and has registered a complaint with NPS UDSRR superintendent Vidal Martinez. But Henry said he’s just doing his job and following through on concerns expressed by the town’s emergency personnel. Martinez concurs. “This has nothing to do with Al Henry,” Martinez said. “Our concerns are focused on the health and safety issues there.”

Supervisor Tina Palecek also raised the issue of impeded access from river recreationists. “People who park there to enjoy the river are also parking in different directions and you couldn’t get a truck through then either,” she added. “It still comes down to a safety issue.”

One solution proposed by councilman Robert Burrows was to disallow all parking or standing in the cul-de-sac altogether. “We’re opening ourselves up to liability if we allow parking or the farmers market, or anything that’s stationary. Let’s eliminate that. No parking, no activities. Just a turnaround,” he said.

But Martinez questions whether the intended use of that area for river and recreational access includes its use for a commercial venture. “The area is intended primarily for public access and what we saw there was an activity that would hamper our access,” he said. “Our role is to assure that the public has a safe experience.”

Martinez contends that other partners such as PennDOT, New York DOT and NY DEC hold stakes in maintaining such public access and should be brought into the resolution of the issue. “We’re going to be asking for a re-examination of that area,” he said. “It’s our hope that we can come up with a happy medium, but when it comes to the well-being of the people, that has to take priority.”

The YFD and the town board are also scrutinizing the matter. “We’re obtaining a copy of the original deed that’s written for that area,” said Schadt. “There’s also federal money involved, so we would have to go by whatever that money was intended to be used for. We’re not against the farmers market, but maybe they could find another location.”

“At no time did the YFD ever indicate that they didn’t support the farmers market,” added Palecek. “It was the whole idea of safety, liability and being able to do what they do best, and that is to respond to emergencies and help out the community.”

A motion to rescind the resolution of April 14 passed unanimously. That leaves the market on the lookout for an alternate location. Mark Veder of the River Market said that he welcomes the farmers market back to the old location, but lamented the move. “We’re happy to give them the land again, but it’s such a frustrating thing,” Veder said. “The visibility is bad and the farmers feel that they did better in the other location.”

Caroline Akt, secretary of the Barryville Chamber of Commerce concurred. “We’re really discouraged. We’ve tried hard to beautify that area. The farmers are only there for four hours a week and could pull their vehicles out of the way if necessary,” she said.

Martinetti said that the market hasn’t ruled out the possibility of moving out of the town altogether.

“As a personal note, I did have a 15-year-old nephew drown,” said Palecek. “I can not tell you the agony that my family went through. Getting hurt on the river or having a death from a fire because we can’t get emergency access—it’s too big a price to pay.”