Since 2014, the Cadiz & Trigg County Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program and its participants have derived, developed and demonstrated a plan that has led to community improvement: a Seven Friends Memorial, a Cadiz Housing Authority Playground, a Trigg County Recreation Complex Horse Arena and Multipurpose Facility and Senior Citizens Center Meals.
With no class in 2019, the organization had grandiose plans in 2020 — plans to renovate the Renaissance Stage along Main Street in Cadiz — before the COVID-19 pandemic thwarted those efforts entirely.
But during Tuesday’s monthly Cadiz City Council meeting, Mayor Todd King and his councilmen and women took in a project presentation from class captain Melissa Wallace, in which she and seven others will be spending the next six months driving a capital campaign to build a 14-foot slanted roof to cover the twice-a-week Cadiz Farmer’s Market between the Renaissance Stage and the Cadiz Baptist Church Annex.
Expected to cost between $60,000 and $70,000 with affixed ceiling fans, Wallace noted the main crux of this project stems from a need to create a year-round space for local farmers, artisans and crafters — who would like nothing more than to use this area come rain or shine.
Adding a roof, Wallace added, would turn the zone into something even more engaging, accessible and useful for the local community.
Wallace said the team’s research led them to a singular notion that American downtown areas — specifically in rural communities — want a thriving farmer’s market in order to drive in local goods and produce, or perhaps incubate a business from a kiosk to a brick-and-mortar model.
Creating a roof structure could lead to further developments, too, Wallace posited — as a projector and screen could lead to downtown movie nights, walls and heating could lead to an indoor market, and seating or another small stage could create another rental location or venue for Country Ham Festival plans.
An engineering class at the Trigg County High School has already helped draft plans for the structure, which Wallace and her team hopes to have built before the beginning of the 2022 farmer’s market season next April.
Wallace and the class didn’t not come into Tuesday’s meeting seeking city funds, and instead have plans set. More than 70% of funds raised will have come come from outreach with business and individuals, while the other 30% will derive from radio communications, local organizations and financial institutions opting for sponsorship.
Wallace added a critical piece of the fundraising could come from a planned annual farm-to-table dinner, in which key donors would receive invitations.
Seeking the city’s blessing, King and his council had few questions for Wallace — and gave the project a Siskel & Ebert “two thumbs up.”
Those in the leadership group also include Dustin Gilbert, Mackenzie Stone, Adrienne Fuller, Eunice Stone, Amy Kuberski, Holly Greene and Ashley Johnson.
