Color me green.
The city of Garnett recently came into possession of what once was an enormous steel pavilion used to house the farmers market in Overland Park.
The structure is actually three pavilions, each 46 feet by 86 feet, placed end to end.
The Kansas City suburb offered the pavilions at no cost to make way for a new $34 million enclosed public use facility.
Jessica Mills, director of the Anderson County Economic Development Agency, was instrumental in scoring the pavilions for Garnett. One will be used to provide farmers market vendors and customers shelter from the elements.
The story was years in the making, she said, giving credit to Anderson County’s Rosanna Bauman and her father, John.
As the owners of Cedar Valley Farms in rural Anderson County, the Bauman family are regulars at the Overland Park farmers market as well as Garnett’s where they sell their poultry.
According to Mills, the Baumans longed for a pavilion-like feature to provide shade for Garnett’s market. When they learned about two years ago that Overland Park was going to replace its with an enclosed building, they relayed the news to Travis Wilson, Garnett city manager, who followed through by contacting Overland Park officials.
BUT GARNETT needed a “squeaky wheel,” to ensure they were kept in the loop.
Enter Ms. Mills, who moved to Garnett for the economic development position in June. With a background in marketing and sales, Mills doesn’t know the word “no.”
Sensing this was an opportunity to take Garnett’s market to the next level, Mills dedicated herself to the project.
“My first move was to regularly check in with Travis Wilson, greeting him several days a week with a friendly ‘Good morning, boss. Heard anything from Overland Park?’”
Mills kept up the good-natured hounding until a meeting between Overland Park and Garnett officials had been secured. In September, Mills and Wilson went to Overland Park “so everyone could put faces to names,” she said.
In October, the communities interested in the pavilions were asked to submit proposals.
“That was my cue to get to work,” Mills said. She arranged meetings to determine what it would take to deconstruct and transport the steel structures to Garnett.
Estimates came in between $60,000 and $80,000.
“I’m happy to say we came under budget,” she said Tuesday afternoon, but refrained from giving a more definite figure.
