Local artisans, vendors, musicians, growers and interested individuals are invited to attend a meeting to discuss the development of a community market.

The meeting, which is sponsored by the Denton Main Street Association and the city of Denton, will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 8, at the City Hall conference room.

The idea for the meeting emerged from a proposal by resident Kati Trice, who contacted Mayor Pro Tem Pete Kamp earlier this year about the project. In her four-page proposal, Trice listed eight central principles for starting a community market. They include encouraging the economic and artistic growth of emerging and accomplished artisans in Denton, supporting locally grown produce and providing a central resource for community information and involvement.

“It would be a place to buy local produce and for the people of Denton to have an opportunity to sell the goods that they create … connecting people to what is happening in their city,” Trice said. “It will be a benefit to the residents and a benefit to the city.”

Julie Glover, Denton’s economic development officer, said there had been discussions in the past with local farmers and vendors about creating a community market.

Glover got more interested when Brian Price, a student intern in her office, pitched the idea to her in December.

Glover said Price’s 67-page effort, titled “Farmers’ Market and Other Comprehensive Local Food Initiatives in Denton, TX,” took a broader view than previous discussions.

“His was more about education on local produce, how it’s better for the environment, etc.,” Glover said. She said the plan included creating a local food council and allowing farmers’ markets to use the federal WIC program as a way to make produce more available for low-income residents.

He suggested cooking classes, too.

“What do you do with an artichoke?” Glover asked rhetorically. “We would need a class on that since we are so used to processed foods.”

Glover said other ideas now in discussion include finding a permanent location for the community market as well as offering more than just produce.

“We can have arts and crafts and other things,” she said.

To develop her vision of a community market, Trice looked at such neighboring community markets as those in Coppell and Grapevine.

“It is a combination — having the diversity of goods like in Coppell and supporting local arts and crafts and those vendors like Grapevine does,” she said.

Her ideal market, Trice said, would include permanent canopies, customer seating and aesthetic elements.

“The more successful the market is, the more people will see a value for it and will want to expand it,” she said.

In researching the community markets in Coppell and Grapevine, Trice said, she found that city support was essential.

“Successful community markets in the cities I looked at are supported by the city,” she said.

Bob Montgomery, president of the Denton Main Street Association, said he would support the idea of a city-sponsored community market.

“If it is done in a reasonable way, it will be a good thing for Denton,” he said.

However, Montgomery said, some rules would be needed with such a plan.

“We can’t put in a temporary market that allows tenants to compete with our tax-based businesses,” he said. “We have to really watch it, since there would be a big temptation to turn it into a flea market.”

Keith Kopp, president of the Denton County Farmers Market Association, agreed with Montgomery.

“It is a neat idea,” he said. “It’s arty and crafty, but like anything else you have to have dollars behind it — someone behind it to manage it and be willing to give it their time.”

Glover said the meeting next Wednesday will help narrow some of the ideas in discussion, including a permanent place for the market, insurance and other necessities.

“It will be a planning meeting to put the idea out there and test the waters,” she said. “There are details to be worked out.”

Trice has notified 300 people through various nonprofits about the planning meeting, and she said she has received feedback from people who are interested in becoming vendors or in helping put the market together.

“A year is certainly enough time,” she said. “I am excited about it.”

Once the details are worked out, she said, the market could open by April.

KARINA RAMÍREZ can be reached at 940-566-6878. Her e-mail address is kramirez@dentonrc.com .