Kennedy Park's Empty Corner Got a Farmers Market, and the Park Plan Got Reopened

At the August Village Board meeting, a vendor who has sold at the Weston Farmers Market for eight years told trustees his sales were down 40% for the year. He had expected a drop like that after the move. Then he asked the board to stop moving the market. According to Wausau Pilot & Review, the vendor said, "If we move again, it's going to hurt." He wanted Kennedy Park to be "a new permanent home."

The board agreed, 4-1. The vote did more than settle the market. The stalls now sit on ground the Kennedy Park master plan had saved for the next baseball field. So a market Weston never meant to move is now shaping plans for the ballfields, the hockey rink and the rest of the park. The village's fall survey adds a question about how people use Kennedy Park beyond the market. October is when all of these uses overlap, and it's the first time Weston has asked about the park as a whole.

October at 6002 Alderson Street, Week by Week

Today is Sunday, October 4. Eight market days are left in the 21st season. The market runs Tuesdays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the season closes Saturday, October 31.

These dates were plans as of the committee's early-October meeting. The light delivery and the punch-list work depend on contractors and shipping schedules.

How the Market Ended Up on the Ballfield's Ground

Weston didn't choose to leave its old market site at Schofield Avenue and Camp Phillips Road. Lokre Development owns that land and leased it to the village for $1 a year. The developer has approved plans for a freestanding Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins there. In October 2025, trustees voted 5-2 to make Kennedy Park a temporary home for one year.

Staff recommended Kennedy Park because of its size, and the gap is large. The new market area is about 69,000 square feet with roughly 379 parking spaces. The Schofield Avenue site had about 25,000 square feet and 201 spaces. Staff also say the park holds 10 more stalls than the old site, and vendors can keep their vehicles beside their stalls.

Space wasn't the problem. Access was. The village's first survey ran from June 2 to June 30 and drew 393 responses. Nearly 57% of respondents preferred the old location, and about 36% preferred Kennedy Park. Parking shaped 73% of responses, more than any other factor. More than 92% of respondents drive to the market. Written comments kept coming back to the exit onto Alderson Street, where cars parked on both sides block the view of oncoming traffic. Other comments described the grass as hard going for people using walkers, wheelchairs or strollers.

The positive comments were specific too. Respondents liked the extra room, the separate parking, and being close to the playground and pool. Renee Hodell has run the market for 19 years. She told the board last October that the market once spent nine years at 5500 Schofield Ave. before leaving over poor visibility. Some 2026 shoppers raised the same complaint about Kennedy Park.

What Changed Between June and October

The June survey ran during the worst stretch of the season. The roundabout at Alderson Street and Jelinek Avenue was still under construction. At the August meeting, a vendor with more than 20 years at area markets said the first Saturday after the roundabout opened brought a big jump in business. Elderly regulars who had stayed away came back. He also questioned the survey itself:

"When you ask the wrong questions, you get bad input. These are now community events. People dress up for farmers markets."

Trustee Brent Olson said no workable alternative site had come up. The old site is unavailable, and the former village hall land has been sold. His plan went along with the board's vote:

• Cone off 15 feet in each direction at the most problematic intersection
• Ask a property owner to trim vegetation that blocks sightlines
• Add signs for an underused parking lot off Alderson Street
• Enforce the four-foot rule at driveways, with an officer sweeping the area about once an hour on Tuesdays and Saturdays

Olson noted that none of these are new rules, since state statute already requires them. By October, staff reported that early parking and traffic complaints had eased once the roundabout opened. Crews also filled a low spot near the parking lot that had been collecting water. Trustee Luis Lopes-Serrao added that the market pays for itself, and this year's site improvements came from market revenue, not the levy.

The market also reaches beyond its own shoppers. Staff say more than 2,000 pounds of unsold produce went to The Neighbors' Place food pantry this season. SNAP shoppers can swipe EBT at the manager's booth. Double Up Food Bucks then matches their spending dollar for dollar, up to $20, for fresh fruits and vegetables. Unused tokens carry forward to the next visit.

The Rest of the Park Is Moving Too

The market's corner is only one part of Kennedy Park's year. The renovated Weston and Rajek ballfields returned to play this spring. They still have punch-list items to finish: touch-up paint, cracked block, missing mortar, dugout doors, and sod torn up during an irrigation repair. The village is holding back part of the contract payment until that work is done. The Rajek Field lights are paid for by the Friends of Kennedy Park through its capital campaign fund at the Community Foundation, which holds about $103,400. The lights will become village property.

Then comes ice. At its late-September meeting, the Parks and Recreation Committee agreed that it no longer needs a separate survey on the outdoor rink. A question about park use will go into the market survey instead, which leaves the rink in place for another winter. Staff explained why the rink is cheap to keep. The crews who flood and clear it would be working anyway, so closing it would save only on utilities. Water for the rink cost a little more than $800 this year.

Staff call Kennedy the only full-size outdoor hockey rink in the area. Rothschild's rink on George Street is a little more than half that size, and Weston resurfaces its ice with a donated Zamboni. When the village last counted, Kennedy drew 30 to 40 skaters a day. Seasons have run anywhere from 40 to 74 days. The warming house has stayed closed since the 2019 season. When the lights are off, skaters have been known to line up their cars and play by headlight.

Why the Park Plan Is Open Again

Kennedy Park's full master plan called for five baseball and softball fields, an outdoor hockey rink and warming house, playground updates, more parking, skatepark improvements, restrooms, concessions and shade structures. The full plan was estimated at $14,544,670. A proposed 180-stall parking lot on the east side will be built only when money is available.

The market has now changed that plan. Trustees want the market worked into the master plan, and they are weighing whether the planned five ball fields should become four, where pickleball and hockey would go, and whether the market needs a size cap with rotating vendors. In August, Everest Youth Hockey proposed a 30,000-square-foot indoor facility at the park. The group said local teams get roughly a third less ice time than national guidelines recommend. That proposal could reshape the park's northwest corner. Committee members said there is still room for another diamond, possibly with shorter outfield fences on the largest field. Everest Youth Hockey has not yet brought back a detailed plan.

The fall survey has been rewritten to fit these decisions. It drops the question about the old site. It asks people to rate specific market features, parking, how they get there, how often they come, and the one change they would most like to see. Vendors can identify themselves in their responses. Staff also say the Kennedy shelter is one of the most frequently rented in the village, and the committee wants a clearer picture of everything else happening at the park. The answers will go to the committee as it reworks a park that now holds a 21-year-old market, two renovated ballfields and a rink that floods every winter.

If you own a home near Kennedy Park, or anywhere in Weston, the park's next master plan affects what's nearby and how people use it. At Joleta Wesbrock, we follow decisions like these closely because they shape what a Weston address means. If you'd like to know how local park and road changes might show up in your home's value, ask for a free home valuation. Guiding You Home.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.