Tag: SC State Farmer’s Market

SC State Farmers Market Problems

By Paul Gable
The Legislative Audit Council recently released a report documenting ongoing problems at the SC State Farmers Market in Lexington.

The report was conducted at the request of members of the General Assembly.

The overall conclusion of the report is that the market is unable to sustain itself without the injection each year of taxpayer dollars.

A rebuttal at the end of the report by SC Secretary of Agriculture Hugh Weathers and his department disagrees strongly with the findings.

The SC State Farmers Market has been a political football since the SCDA determined the former market site in Richland County was not viable even though $4.4 million in taxpayer dollars had been spent to develop it.

However, former Agriculture Secretary Les Tindall opposed the relocation because he said the market made money without the need of taxpayer dollars with the help of rent it received on USC football home game days from parking fees.

A resolution to relocate the site passed the SC General Assembly on May 8, 2008. SCDA officials said there was no official commitment to Lexington County until the resolution passed even though an incentive agreement for the new site had been signed by Lexington County and the developer in December 2007.

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State Farmer’s Market Controversy Continues

The purchase of land for “Phase Two” of the State Farmer’s Market remains on the political radar of S.C. Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers and Lt. Gov. Glenn McConnell, according to op-eds they each published in state newspapers last month.

A late attempt to get $16 million in the FY 2013 state budget to purchase additional land at the farmer’s market from private interests drew the attention of many familiar with the issue. The Senate proposed the $16 million, but, fortunately, the House wouldn’t agree and the proposed purchase died in conference committee at the end of the legislative year.

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