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Customers look over the many flavored nuts — most of which are grown and processed locally — at the Nut Hut at the Galt Market on Tuesday. Owners of the Galt-based store, Carol and Walt Ballard, say business is down 75 percent in recent months due to high gas prices and the resulting decline in customers. (Dan Evans/News-Sentinel)

Galt market woes

Big revenue declines expected with ailing economy

By Chris Nichols
News-Sentinel Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 6:12 AM PDT

Comments (33 comment(s))

A year ago, customers from as far away as Reno or even Seattle frequented Seyyed Noori's stand of studded belts, leather wallets and cell phone accessories at the Galt Market.

Lately, however, Noori said he's lucky even to find locals interested in his wares.

"Right now, (customers) don't want to come that far," said the Tracy man, noting his sales are off 25 percent since March.

The region's anemic economy, plus $4.50-a-gallon gas prices has cut into profits for hundreds of vendors at the market.

Fuel costs have spiked, hurting both vendors and customers and leaving the market in flux.

"I'm barely breaking even," noted Pat McCandless of Galt, who sells calendars, gift bags and garden ornaments at a stand near Noori.

The economy has hit the market so hard that more than 100 vendor spaces have remained open in recent months.

Just a couple years ago, the market had a vendor waiting list with dozens of names on it.

The toll on the market isn't isolated. The city of Galt draws nearly all of its parks and recreation revenue from vendor fees.

City, high school district to work together on stadium improvements

Galt City Council members pledged Tuesday night to work with the Galt Joint Union High School District to reconstruct one of the "centerpieces" of the community: Galt High School's Warrior Stadium.

No dollar figure was promised.

However, a majority of the council said the district's $2.5 million plans are something the city should help with, at least partially.

"We're willing to work with you to make this happen," Galt Mayor Andrew Meredith said, during the city's budget meeting at Galt City Hall.

The city may be able to draw from some of its $632,000 in untapped developer fee money, officials noted.

A meeting between city and district officials will be scheduled in coming weeks.

District leaders, including Superintendent Tom Gemma and board member Gus Prouty, asked the council for its support.

Replacing the stadium's home team bleachers and making improvements to the track are among the project's goals.

Building a new scoreboard, one that might be able to advertise city-run programs like the Galt Market, was discussed.

"I really think there's a great benefit to the population of this town if we can work this out together," Prouty said.

— News-Sentinel staff

The city expects market revenue to decline roughly $500,000 in each of the next two fiscal years.

That, at least in part, is the reason for higher fees for local sports programs run by the city, said Boyce Jeffries, who heads the city's parks and recreation department.

Roughly 50 vendors and city officials met Tuesday afternoon at Galt's Chabolla Community Center to talk about the market's lagging sales.

Officials asked for suggestions for how to boost the market, something that would help all parties involved.

They got a flood of answers.

The leading suggestion was to lower fees. Vendors pay $40 on Tuesdays for each space they use, higher than many other markets in the region, several vendors said.

Others asked the city to advertise the market more, or perhaps give them two spaces for the price of one for a limited time.

Jeffries noted the city last year tripled its advertising budget for the market to $55,000. It also made numerous improvements, adding new shade structures and replacing toilets inside the market's restrooms.

Jeffries said formal recommendations for how to help the market will be presented to the City Council no later than August.

"We're not going to drag our legs on this," he said.

Another vendor meeting on the same topic is scheduled for 3 p.m. today at the community center, at 600 Chabolla Ave.

Galt Council members Tim Raboy and Don Haines, who attended Tuesday's vendor meeting, said later at an evening budget meeting the market needs the city's support.

Fellow council members agreed, but declined to allocate any additional advertising dollars for the market.

New television advertisements are in the works, officials said.

Officials earlier in the year had proposed building a $120,000 sign to promote the market. That idea was wiped out due to budget constraints and concerns about the proposed location, the Central Galt Interchange. That overpass will be rebuilt in coming years.

Council members at the evening meeting were to discuss additional details of the 2008-09 and 2009-10 spending plans. They had not approved the budgets as of the News-Sentinel's deadline.

Contact reporter Chris Nichols at chrisn@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

Cogito wrote on Jun 27, 2008 9:40 PM:

" I wish I were a Galt Council member just so I could show up to every meeting, sporting a 6 pack of bottled water, bought with MY money. Every time Meredith would talk, I would take a drink. I would look him in the eye while doing it as to say " so what are you going to do about it .........CUPCAKE!" LOL! "

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Cogito wrote on Jun 27, 2008 9:28 PM:

" Galtmastermind, if you think these are good ideas, you need to change your blog name to keep it from sounding facetious. The plastic bottle ban is MORONIC! You use people like Alice Waters to bolster your idealism? She is slightly left of Stalin in her political leanings. So, in your world, if I show up sporting a plastic water bottle, and I'm a member of the council, what would you do? Kick me out? I find it sickening that the only thing liberals like you support the freedom of choice about, is killing unborn children. You are a JOKE! "

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middleman wrote on Jun 27, 2008 5:30 PM:

" Yep, and rememeber Raboy also voted AGAINST revising the water conservation ordinance to conserve water (Aug 1, 2005)!!! I guess banning bottled water at JUST council meetings makes up for everyone watering their lawns morning, noon and night - now THAT's a good idea! "

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galtmastermind wrote on Jun 25, 2008 11:09 PM:

" What did the last group of bosos accomplish? They couldn't even complete their plans to triple the city's size by 2020. The movie theater they promised now looks like it was a pipe dream from the start. They were all talk, no action. That has changed. There are so many new ideas coming to council meetings that i feel staff is getting obstructive when they respond during meetings. Raboy has brought sprinklers, hybrid cars and all kinds of other ideas forward. Haines has focused on helping mobile home residents with Meredith. The three were/are a breath of fresh air. The other two just seem angry to not be in charge anymore. When Raboy was out 4-1, he still worked and brought things forward. Why is the current minority just pouting? "

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galtmastermind wrote on Jun 25, 2008 11:04 PM:

" (Cont)

"A few mayors have chosen sound-bite environmentalism over sound public policy in their zeal to appease liberal activist groups that are pedaling misinformation about bottled water," said Kevin Keane, a senior vice president of the industry's American Beverage Association.

Corporate Accountability International said in a statement that cities spend about $70 million a year to dispose of plastic water bottles. The group's Gigi Kellett said, "It's just plain common sense for cities to stop padding the bottled water industry's bottom line at taxpayer expense."

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom wrote the resolution. Newsom was joined by 17 sponsors, including New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Leading up to the vote, more than 60 mayors around the country had taken some measures to reduce or eliminate bottled water use, Corporate Accountability said. Most recently, the cities of San Jose, Calif., Miami and Orlando, Fla., decided to phase out bottled water.

Prominent celebrity chefs, including Alice Waters of Chez Panisse and Mario Batali of Babbo, have banned bottled water, too, and instead switched to tap water. "

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galtmastermind wrote on Jun 25, 2008 11:03 PM:

" I searched for the article about bottled water, here it is:

AP

NEW YORK -- The nation's mayors voted Monday against spending taxpayer money to buy bottled water, a blow to the beverage industry that has enjoyed growing profit from water sales in recent years.

A majority of about 250 mayors at the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Miami voted to phase out government use of bottled water. That means attendees of city council meetings around the country could more often see pitchers of water instead of clear plastic bottles on the tables of local legislators.

An industry group called the move "sound-bite environmentalism," while activists cheered it.

The vote is the latest salvo against an industry that includes PepsiCo Inc.'s Aquafina, The Coca-Cola Co.'s Dasani and Nestle Waters North America's many brands, which included Poland Spring and Deer Park. "

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galtmastermind wrote on Jun 25, 2008 11:00 PM:

" Ok, Big Box ordinance, mobile home regulations, his new kids program posted on the galt forum website, general plan boundaries, higher density residential growth around the new high school in the general plan, bottled water (laugh if you want, but the US Conference of Mayors just this Monday adopted a similiar resolution to the one Meredith wrote in Galt), no tranfer station, etc. "

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Cogito wrote on Jun 25, 2008 10:22 PM:

" Mastermind, I think I preferred the previous council to the present one. I wish you could point out those "new ideas" Meredith has that you feel are good, because I've yet to see one. We NEED growth, as long as it's good growth. We NEED to attract revenue and job producing business, yet the current council seems almost hostile to the idea. When you're green you grow, when you're ripe you rot. We need to fiscally grow. Sometimes you have to make financial concessions in the short term to attract long term revenue. Current fees and laws are prohibitive roadblocks. "

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galtmastermind wrote on Jun 25, 2008 10:00 PM:

" I am pretty happy with what we have now. I have liked Meredith and his new ideas, and I have been glad to see Raboy finally be able to spread his wings. I had hoped that he and former councilman Malson would be able to reign in some of the others back 4 years ago, but Malson at times had no backbone. Now at least we have 5 memebrs who take a position one way or the other. Though i don't agree with Payne and Clare on much of anything, I guess I can respect that. By the way, what happened to Darryl Clare? He seems to have unofficially retired. He brings no new ideas before the city anymore. "

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Cogito wrote on Jun 25, 2008 9:24 PM:

" Middleman, we really DO need someone with a mind for business on our council. I think all the people we elect have a heart for service, but they lack the knowledge to make good long term business decisions. And Papercut, I know there's some kind of pecking order in place that keeps the old guard there when it comes to vendors.I don't know how one would remedy that without spitting in the face of loyalty, but you're correct, something needs to change. The drop in interest may be due to the choices becoming stale. Maybe I should run? "

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papercut wrote on Jun 25, 2008 8:22 PM:

" And, cogito, Galt still has the same olds running the show and now that business and realty is dead, they don't have anyone issuing them orders and aren't smart enough to figure it out by themsleves. I'm impressed by Mr. Meredith, but from what I see and read, it's time for Payne and Raboy to go. How could such a small town have so much hidden propaganda? Those nasty little PAC's need to distance themselves from your questionable chamber of commerce and take their dealings public, not behind closed doors. Looks like all those old farts have to do is water lawns and cash those contribution checks. LMAO "

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papercut wrote on Jun 25, 2008 8:13 PM:

" cogito, why would a city the size of Galt, year after year, depend on the flea market as a steady and reliable source of funds? Galt & Denio's are the only two left that are even worth considering attending, that have even half the business they had five years ago. It's not the price of gas at Galt, but the repetetive vendors with exactly the same merchandise. And the space rentals have been raised almost twice what they were when business was good. To continue to attract your better vendors, the space rentals should be adjusted to reflect the hard economic times and fuel prices. Many towns now have their own local farmers markets and they have to put an economic squeeze on those many produce vendors. Lockeford will now have one on Tuesday nights and will keep further customers away. Channel 10 news tonight showed all the empty spaces available and it sure doesn't look good at all. Why hasn't anyone taken notice before and ramped up on the advertising and encountered the problem sooner? Seems to me with things at a dead standstill someone should've been watching the chicken coop and made citizens aware of the problem-and-ask-for-their help-in-solving-it. "

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middleman wrote on Jun 25, 2008 8:10 PM:

" A general law city's general fund typically pays for only TWO city departments: police and parks & recreation, since all the other departments operate pretty much from fees charged for services. Galt is very lucky that they have the market, which pays about $180,000 per year just to keep their pool open, as an example. If/when the Market dries up, they will have 3-choices: raise recreational fee's through the roof, cut way back on recreational programs, or (like Marysville had to), close ALL their parks and recreational programs. So they BETTER figure out how to support that market !! Too bad they dont have any true business folks on their council. "

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Cogito wrote on Jun 25, 2008 7:40 PM:

" Papercut, you're killing me man. Your last 2 entries are freaking hilarious. As far as your earlier blog regarding the vendors and their merchandise, you could burn down the whole place and only cause hundreds of dollars in damage. You know their motto, "there's no life like low life". "

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papercut wrote on Jun 25, 2008 7:28 PM:

" commonsense1, is that a threat? are you a cop or what? I'll bet you're that FBI agent in that black helicopter spying on the gob's. "

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papercut wrote on Jun 25, 2008 7:26 PM:

" t & c, since when is your opinion any better or worse than mine? You need to get out of that little hotel room and get outside once in a while. Maybe you and common could trade comics. A lot of your blogs sound medicated. "

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Cogito wrote on Jun 25, 2008 5:38 PM:

" PS Boon, why do you mouth breathers need so much air? "

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Cogito wrote on Jun 25, 2008 5:35 PM:

" Boonablis, you said "it's called grass, look into it"........What? Your ability to spew incoherent thought never ceases to amaze me. I can only surmise you're referring to your choice of smoke. Say hi to your fellow employees at Wal-Mart. "

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T & C wrote on Jun 25, 2008 5:32 PM:

" Papercut, I can always count on you for a good pick me up laugh when it comes to mentioning GOB's! You are either Part of Lodi's problem or Part of Lodi's Solution! Why don't you run for city council, Expose all this so-called Corruption, and bribery, and blow the case wide open? Here's your chance! Either make Lodi better, or quit whining. The same goes for edumacation! If I have a sticker in my finger I pull it out! I don't leave it in and whine about the problem! Join the race for City Council! edumacation will vote for you! "

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commonsense1 wrote on Jun 25, 2008 5:03 PM:

" Papercut, have you noticed no one is acknowledging your racist trash talk. I'm watching you gumby. "

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papercut wrote on Jun 25, 2008 1:22 PM:

" I look at the Stockton Record online today and see the local article about Lodi having a final plan for the pollution cleanup that was resolved the last couple of days and you bypass city news like this to cover the Galt flea market? Or do you just simply wait until they run their story first now, so yopu can just copy it instead of having an entire different version. Enlighten us with some good news from Galt that maybe we could turn into something positive instead of always making something or someone look bad? When do we get the article about cleanup, which now seems to have grown to $50 million and 50 years? Give us the scoop! "

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PAL wrote on Jun 25, 2008 12:28 PM:

" I have to tell you I was disappointed when I went to the Galt Market last month. I had not been in about 1 year due to working the weekdays. Took some vacation time and I went to the market with my 23 year old son. There we so many empty slots it was embarassing. I have been going to the Galt Market since it was across the street where the F&M Bank is and there were a race track and horse stables in Galt.
Galt, you need to get more vendors in, with different items. On Wednesdays you need to make sure you have a good mixture of old and new "

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boonablis wrote on Jun 25, 2008 11:01 AM:

" Cogito, its called grass, look into it

Cogito and Papercut:
Do us all a favor and quit complaining to us lodi folks about how crappy your town is. Keep that "in house". Quit breathin' all of our air up "

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galtmastermind wrote on Jun 25, 2008 8:43 AM:

" Galt Citizen: i heard they did not appropriate money out of the budget. Where did you get that info? It says in the story that no dollar figue was promised. How do you appropriate money without a dollar amount? I think you got bad info. "

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galtmastermind wrote on Jun 25, 2008 8:41 AM:

" I called a friend at the meeting last night to hear why they voted for stadium money. She told me that they committed zero dollars, but did agree to help in some way. I personally don't want much contributed, but there should be some way to share a new stadium for our youth. Payne, Clare and Meredith agreed to partner with the high school, Haines and Raboy did not. I can see Raboy and Haines reasoning, but sometimes you have to work towards a common good. "

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papercut wrote on Jun 25, 2008 8:17 AM:

" Cogito, you're right, but your leaders need to clean and tidy up that flea market and oust some of those same old same old vendors with the real chinese junk. And the police chief is the same problem as Lodi. Keep on promoting the next local gob officer right on up the line because he knows Galt? Or Lodi? What's so hard about policing Lodi or Galt? Like it's so gigantic it's too much area. Lodi has 4-6 square blocks of high crime area and Galt has to be smaller than that and they both say it's too much for them to cover efficiently. We both nedd new police chiefs that aren't afraid to buck the good old boys, union and gob's and run a REAL police department. They take over half the city budget, yet crime gets worse each year. "

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papercut wrote on Jun 25, 2008 8:10 AM:

" And as for you, Lodi Sentinel, you've again sunk to a new low by disregarding your own city's issues with your constant assault on Galt. If you weren't in such fear of the city of Lodi and their gob's. Why do you fear them so much? Or are you or your family maybe involved in these issues yourselves? Please give us local information and keep us informed about Lodi and its finaancial woes and developments on current issues and not Galt. "

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Cogito wrote on Jun 25, 2008 8:06 AM:

" Galt doesn't need more police to fight increasing crime. We just need a police chief who thinks that fighting crime is more important than busting people for selling counterfeit handbags at the flea market. And, Boonablis, if you think WE have a "crappy stadium", you apparently haven't been to that colossal embarrassment called the Grape Bowl lately. "

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papercut wrote on Jun 25, 2008 8:04 AM:

" As for the flea market, it started going under 2 years ago when the city of Galt raised the space rentals too high and most local vendors couldn't afford or just wanted out when those Chinese and Asian junk sellers came in. The produce is stand after stand of the same thing and people prefer their local farmers market to produce, much of which is already a day old and some stolen from local farmers' fields. At least a quarter of those vendors are using someone elses' license and many pay no franchise tax at all. Much of it is sellout items from your local Walmart store. My wife's friends, 3 of them, used to vend there using the same xerox copied license. And who wants to trip over those senoritas with two baby strollers, a shopping cart, and four children running wild. The same officials open very early in the morning and if they've seen your face before and know you, they just assume your license is current. Mr. Meredith, you are the one that can make a difference with your youth and intelligence and please kick those old ideas of how to run a town asideand start anew.xThoseoldxfolkstherezdon'txhavexaxclue! "

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papercut wrote on Jun 25, 2008 7:51 AM:

" Lodi is $250 million in debt and we get front page news about Galt having financial problems? Typical news-sentinel. Why aren't you writing about the corruption in Lodi and the corrupt council, management there? Why are you always dissing Galt? Write about Lodi's corruption that you refuse to acknowledge or put in print. Let's hear more about mokelumne school and the missing money, or about the developer going door to door and calling those he signed contracts with to try to weasel his way out. Or the local plaayers involved in the Delta college campus here in Lodi and their back door deals? Fess up marty and rich and gives us our local crooks and quit using Galt as your carpet to sweep them under. "

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galt citizen wrote on Jun 25, 2008 7:35 AM:

" Good going city council. Let's spend money in our budget on improving the stadium and not on more police officers to deal with the increased crime in this city. And you have the nerve to ask us to pay an extra 1/2% sales tax to cover more police. This is the reason we should not vote for this increase, if you can't stay within your budget, why should we continue to bail you out!? save your precious budget monies to fight crime, not to improve a football stadium. where are your priorities? "

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boonablis wrote on Jun 25, 2008 7:27 AM:

" Your town is so poor it is becoming a third world country. Yet, you are worring about putting bleachers in your crappy stadium for your sub par football team. Sounds like you have your priorities in order. Homes are getting foreclosed on, and the yards are dry.
And by the way, the patrons of the flea market are probably not paying taxes-you know to put more money in to your economy. but everything is cool though right? "

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T & C wrote on Jun 25, 2008 7:04 AM:

" I have seen fruit and veggies that were past the good quality to buy or that their prices were Equal to Food4Less. Why make the trip to the Galt Flea Market if produce and perhaps better quality is at a local grocery store. In all, I like the galt Flea Market. I went there once to buy fleas to aggravate my neighbor and not a single vender had fleas for sale! What's up with that? "

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