What does it cost to run a Saturday market under the Mercado pavilion at Peanuts Park? The City of Pasco now has four written answers. City staff looked at the bids from groups that want to run the market starting in 2027 and called them "generally comparable to the cost for the City to continue operating the program." For a market that has been around since 1988, that is about as calm a review as a city program can get.
The uncertainty comes from what the market was bundled with. The same request for proposals also covered the Pasco Specialty Kitchen at 110 S. Fourth Ave., a few steps from the market. The kitchen costs more to run, it appeared on the City's list of proposed budget cuts, and it took up most of council's discussion in October. When the Saturday stalls at 426 W. Lewis St. come back next spring, the market's future will likely have been settled by a decision mostly about the kitchen.
A Season That Ran on a Smaller Budget
The 2026 market was scheduled for Saturdays from May 9 through Oct. 31, 8 a.m. to noon. Vendors paid a one-time $50 application fee and $30 per market day, and the market reviews applications one at a time so that it stays a place for people selling what they grow or make. The Tri-City Herald reported that a market day can draw about 50 vendors. The market also accepts EBT and takes part in the state's SNAP Produce Rewards pilot.
The City did all of this with much less money than the market used to have. The Herald reported that in 2023, the last year the Downtown Pasco Development Authority ran the market, the program's annual budget was $312,000. The 2026 budget was about $128,000. That makes the market roughly 40 percent as expensive as it was three years ago, and that figure frames everything that follows.
Four Bids, Two Very Different Price Tags
In June 2026 the City asked for outside operators to take over daily management of the market, the kitchen, or both, beginning in 2027. Bidders could choose either program or bid on both, and the City kept the option of awarding them separately. Four proposals came in. Here is how the City's Sept. 17 agenda report lists them:
| Proposer | Covers | Proposed annual contract | Other terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benton Franklin Fair Association / 3 Eyed Fish | Market only | $90,000 | None listed |
| Davis Consulting / 509 Prime LLC | Market, kitchen, or both | Market only $62,000 to $72,000; kitchen only $148,000 to $172,000; both $175,000 | City pays the difference if operating expenses exceed revenues |
| Latin Business Association | Both | $420,000 | Up to $25,000 first-year transition allowance; City keeps utilities, building maintenance, capital replacement and major equipment failures |
| Pasco Chamber of Commerce | Both | $660,000 | Reimbursement of documented unforeseen costs plus a 15% contingency on approved extraordinary expenses |
The two bids that price the programs separately tell the same story. The Fair Association priced the market at $90,000. The Davis Consulting bid priced the market at up to $72,000 and the kitchen at up to $172,000. Both bids keep the market close to its current City budget of about $128,000. On the bids' own numbers, the kitchen costs roughly two to three times as much to run as the market.
Why the Kitchen Is the Hard Part
Staff's estimate for the City to keep running the kitchen itself, with permanent City employees replacing the temporary staff and contracted help it uses now, comes to $329,518 for 2027 and $350,977 for 2028. Labor alone is $222,608 of the 2027 figure.
The kitchen has been a certified commercial kitchen incubator since 2003, a place where local food businesses can start without building their own commercial kitchen. The Tri-City Herald reported that it served 21 clients in 2024 and had room for eight more. The paper also reported that it has lost money every year since 2019.
Staff's review found that two of the three kitchen bids would cost more than continued City operation. The third might save money, but its real expenses "are not yet definitive." Under that bid the City would also cover any gap between revenue and costs on top of the management fee. The market comparison raised no comparable concern.
How the City Ended Up Running Both
For more than a decade, the Downtown Pasco Development Authority ran both programs as part of its downtown revitalization work. The City took direct control in 2023, after a period of leadership turnover and a 2024 Washington State Auditor's Office report that found questionable accounting and embezzlement by a former executive director, as the Tri-City Herald reported. The council dissolved the DPDA in April 2024.
The City has run both programs ever since, and the 2026 request for proposals was its attempt to hand day-to-day operations to groups that specialize in them. Mike Gonzalez, a former Pasco economic development manager who now leads the Latino business group that bid on both programs, put the challenge to the Herald this way: "Because it's a huge burden for cities to run a space like this, oftentimes there's not the expertise internally to run it, nor the commitment to invest in it."
Council Kept Coming Back to Splitting Them
The bids reached the council on Oct. 5. Staff's recommendation was to hold off on choosing an operator until council finished its budget discussions. The written report set out every possibility, including contracted management, continued City operation, or discontinuing either program.
In the meeting video, separating the two programs comes up again and again:
- Councilmember Campos asked for clearer explanations of the bid costs and whether the market and kitchen could have different operators.
- Councilmember Perales supported considering separate operators, suggested looking into selling the kitchen building and equipment, and wanted the question settled during the budget process instead of carried into next year.
- Councilmember Milne supported pausing, said he was open to a sale, and put budget alignment first.
- Councilmember Figueroa described the kitchen as an entry point for small businesses and a support for downtown, and was open to separate operators.
- Councilmember Connor asked for more comparable information on bid quality and said he would not oppose a sale if the City stopped managing the kitchen.
- Councilmember Hernandez agreed with deferring, and the mayor favored waiting until the budget talks, noting that the proposals differed in vision and qualifications.
NBC Right Now summed up the outcome the next day: council paused the decision until after budget discussions and wanted more talk about costs, structure, and possibly splitting the programs. Almost every possible sale or separate-operator arrangement discussed that night was about the kitchen.
The Budget Is Where This Gets Decided
The City's 2027–2028 general fund faces a gap the Tri-City Herald put at about $14 million, with reserves already critically low. Staff proposed about $14.4 million in general fund reductions. In a public explanation the City posted and NBC Right Now republished, the list of proposed cuts included "Closing down Memorial Aquatic Park and Pasco Specialty Kitchen." The same post answered whether those cuts were settled plainly: "No. These are proposed reductions, not final decisions." The farmers market was not named on that list.
Almost 300 people came to the Oct. 13 council meeting where the scenarios were first presented, according to the Herald. The staff agenda report also flags a timing problem. Any outside operator will need time to negotiate a contract and get ready for a 2027 handoff. The market season usually opens in May, so that leaves little time. The calendar from here:
- Nov. 16: the second public budget hearing, after the first on Nov. 2. People can attend in person at City Hall or online.
- Early December: budget adoption. NBC Right Now reported that the City Manager expects final approval at the first regular council meeting in December, and the City's calendar lists that meeting for Dec. 7.
- After adoption: depending on council's direction, staff will negotiate with selected operators, plan for continued City operation, or prepare a closeout plan for either program.
The City posts budget documents at pasco-wa.gov/budget, and residents can contact councilmembers or the City Manager's office before adoption.
Peanuts Park Before the Vote
Peanuts Park won't be empty in the meantime. Visit Tri-Cities lists Pasco Winterfest and the Heritage Tree Lighting for Saturday, Dec. 5, from 3 to 6 p.m. at 426 W. Lewis St., with vendors and food trucks, a Candy Cane Scavenger Hunt, Santa and Mrs. Claus, a kids' zone, and live entertainment. It falls two days before the council meeting where the budget is expected to pass. For more on what's changing on the other side of town, our posts on Road 68 and West Pasco's grocery store question pair well with this one, and our Pasco neighborhood page covers the city as a whole.
Downtown Pasco's Saturday market and its commercial kitchen are part of what makes the neighborhood around Peanuts Park feel like home. At Jason Barrow Realty, we follow decisions like this one because they shape daily life for the families we work with. If you'd like to talk about downtown Pasco, how it's changing, or what's next for your own home here, Contact Us anytime.
