The City of Newport Beach has released a staff report on an agreement with Heritage Wellness Collective to operate the Corona del Mar Farmers Market in advance of the City Council meeting on Tuesday, April 15.
According to the staff report, the current agreement for the farmers’ market located on City-owned property in Corona del Mar is set to expire June 30, 2025.
In compliance with the City’s procurement requirements, a Request for Proposal (RFP) was published in August 2024 to identify a qualified operator for continued operation. After a formal evaluation and interview process, Heritage Wellness Collective was selected as the most qualified and responsive proposer.
For the City Council’s consideration is a new, five-year Revocable License Agreement with Heritage Wellness Collective for operation and management of the farmers’ market in Corona del Mar, including a request to waive City Council Policy F-7.
The staff report notes that since 1996, a certified farmers’ market has operated on City-owned public parking lots in Corona del Mar. The market was initiated at the request of the market manager, Rick Heil, and local residents, and began under a series of one-year encroachment permits.
The initial permit was amended by the City Council in 1999, to allow for 10 additional one-year extensions through 2009 when a five-year license agreement was approved, followed in 2014 by a new agreement with a five-year term and five-year option, set to expire on June 30, 2025.
The Current License is held by Rick Heil, who oversees and manages the weekly Corona del Mar Certified Farmers’ Market. The CdM Market operates on the City-owned lots at the corner of Marguerite Avenue and Bayside Drive and Larkspur Avenue and Bayside Drive, including a portion of the public right-of-way on Larkspur Avenue.
The CdM Market runs every Saturday morning and occupies 53 parking spaces between the two lots. The area is closed to vehicular traffic while the license area is being used for the CdM Market.
Under the Current License, the manager pays the City a license fee of $369.11 per month, or $4,429.32 per year. The CdM Market is limited to operating as a “certified farmers’ market” with producers who have the appropriate permits and approvals from the State of California Department of Agriculture and the Orange County Health Department.
The Current License allows for up to 40 vendors, with participation each week averaging around approximately 29 vendors, according to the staff report..
The city’s RFP was published in August 2024 and was emailed to more than 150 companies involved in operating and managing community and farmers markets throughout Southern California.
Market operators were asked to include the following in their proposals:
- Their ability to provide family friendly programming, special holiday events, and activities that drive engagement with local schools and businesses, and feature music performances by local artists and school bands.
- Their experience attracting high-quality vendors that offer organic produce from certified farmers, prepared foods, and non-food items with local artisans and businesses receiving a discounted rate to participate.
- A comprehensive plan detailing the proposed community market layout and vendor mix, with an information tent, a restroom, trash and recycling, and signage plan.
- Information about the operator’s staffing and management of the necessary permits and licensing, safety and security, setup and operating guidelines.
- Marketing and outreach capabilities.
The City received eight proposals to operate the CdM Market. The proposals were reviewed by a staff panel and scored based on the following criteria:
- Qualifications and Experience of the Firm
- Qualifications and Experience of Key Personnel and Staffing
- Method of Approach / Project Approach
- Pricing for Participating Vendors
As stated in the staff report, proposers were required to have a minimum of five years’ experience delivering community or certified farmers’ markets for local governments with knowledgeable and experienced staff.
The proposers’ ability to retain the mix and quality of products offered at the existing market, with the addition of food items for on-site consumption like coffee and juice drinks, bakery goods, and hot foods was of particular concern to the panel, as was a proposer’s ability to nimbly adjust the mix of vendors in response to community feedback, seasonal changes and trends.
The proposers’ ideas and experience implementing special events and driving community engagement further determined the panel’s scoring of each proposal.
Following the evaluation of the eight submitted proposals, in-person interviews with the five highest-scoring firms were held in December 2024.
During the interviews, proposers were asked to present additional details to the panel regarding their proposed market layout, vendor mix, anticipated community engagement and special events, as well as their marketing strategies.
The current operator, Corona del Mar Certified Farmers Market, ranked fifth. The top scorer was Heritage Wellness Collective, a non-profit operator of community and certified farmers’ markets, with over 15 years of experience developing and managing markets in Orange, Riverside, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino Counties.
According to the staff report, “The co-founders of Heritage, Myisha Croom-Turner and Bing Turner, have coalesced their professional experience into operating successful community-based farmers’ markets. Myisha Turner had a 12-year public service career as an officer with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and now focuses on managing vendors and organizing the administrative requirements of the markets. Bing Turner has worked for over 25 years as a public health professional and researcher and leverages his knowledge and experience by connecting Heritage with organizations like the American Public Health Association and obtaining a 2024 USDA Farmers Market business accelerator grant.”
As part of their RFP, Heritage proposes to operate the farmers’ market by retaining the existing vendors and producers and adding a number of new pre-packaged and prepared food vendors to complement the produce vendors, and will introduce a handful of “hot” food vendors with unique items available for consumption at the market, aimed towards not pulling business away from local retail establishments.
Heritage will introduce and enhance attendees’ experience with periodic entertainment by local musicians, and seasonal events like pumpkin decorating kids’ crafts, farm-to-table dinner fundraisers, earth day eco-friendly activities, and giveaways.
Heritage has contacted the current CdM Market vendors to invite their continued participation in the farmers’ market and reportedly has so far received positive feedback and interest from almost a dozen vendors.
If the agreement is approved, Heritage has committed to commencing operations beginning in May, at the City’s direction.
The proposed terms of the Agreement include an initial term of five years with one five-year extension, and a license fee in the amount of $6,000 per calendar year.
The Agreement has been reviewed by the City Attorney’s Office and has been approved as to form. Heritage has reviewed and approved the terms of the Agreement.
The staff report notes that while the results of the solicitation are not final until the City Council authorizes the Agreement, in the last several months there has been community interest and input regarding the RFP and the proposed change in management of the CdM Market.
Staff attended the monthly Corona del Mar Residents Association meeting in March and provided an update on the process and timeline. Community members were not happy that the City was considering changing the CdM Market operator, and that they did not provide input to develop the scope of the RFP or participate in the selection process.
The staff report as released is more than 400 pages. The first 100 pages include the staff report, legal documents, site photos and miscellaneous correspondence. More than 300 pages are devoted to petitions and letters or emails, most (if not all) in support of retaining the current operator of the Corona del Mar Farmers’ Market.
The Revocable License Agreement is listed as Agenda Item 13 on the City Council’s Meeting agenda for Tuesday, April 15. The meeting will be held at 4 p.m. in the City Council Chambers located at 100 Civic Center Dr.
