Letters: SC Farmers Market nickel and diming on parking

A recommendation by the Legislative Audit Council caused the S.C. Department of Agriculture to levy a parking fee for this year’s Midlands Plant and Flower Festival at the State Farmers Market. The department says visitors should never be charged a fee to visit the market, but since the festival was billed as a special event, that thought just flew out the window.

This event is certainly not a festival; it is nothing more than a flea market for plant vendors to sell their wares. My question is this: Why am I charged to park to buy a plant, tree or shrub, but I’m not charged to park to buy a watermelon, peach or apple. From now on, I’ll be spending my dollars at local garden centers, where I’m not charged to park to buy.