The courtyard and stone building of Harrisburg’s Broad Street Market.
Ashlee O. Dugan soon will leave her position as manager of Harrisburg’s historic Broad Street Market, which continues to struggle with manager retention.
In her resignation letter, Dugan told the board of the Broad Street Market Corp. that she would leave effective July 29 to take a job as the PA Preferred Coordinator for the state Department of Agriculture.
“This experience has been a unique one full of challenges and successes,” she wrote to the board. “I am grateful for the opportunity to have served this beloved place. I am confident that the market is facing in the right direction, and I see amazing things on the horizon.”
Dugan has served in the post since June 2014. The market has had six interim and permanent managers since 2010.
Joshua Kesler, who recently was named board president, said he is sorry to see Dugan go, but hopes that she might be able to assist the market in her new position. He added that the board now would initiate a nationwide search for a new manager.
“We’re going to take our time and find the best possible candidate, “ he said. “I think we’ll be able to find that person.”
In the meantime, Barbara Skelley, who served as market manager from 1995 to 2003, has agreed to take over in a part-time, interim capacity.
In a phone interview, Dugan said she regards recruiting new vendors to the market and starting Farmers at Broad, a monthly outdoor producer’s market, as two of her greatest successes. In recent months, about 10 new vendors have come into the market.
Despite these strides, Dugan said that the market continues to struggle with such challenges as market infrastructure, which was long neglected, and a negative public perception of the market due to past problems.
In addition, she said that she strongly agrees with the recommendation that the market move to a non-profit structure. The Broad Street Market Task Force made that suggestion in a recently released report.
Kesler praised Dugan for achievements during her tenure, saying the market is now “on the right track.”
“A lot of work has already been done to make it stable for the next person,” he said.
In one of her last official acts, Dugan announced that the market will extend its opening time by one hour, to 6 p.m., on Thursdays and Friday. The extension, she said, will help people who wish to shop or get a bite to eat after work.
This story was updated to reflect the interim market manager and extended hour announcements.
