CITY OF KATY, Texas (Covering Katy News) – Katy Mayor Dusty Thiele declined to comment Friday on the city’s controversial decision to take control of Katy Market Days from businesswoman Betsy Proctor, who founded the popular event with her husband, Harry, 30 years ago. The semi-monthly festival, aimed at boosting traffic to downtown businesses, is a tradition that Proctor started to support her own store, Limited Edition Art and Antiques, and nearby businesses.
In declining an on-the-record interview, Thiele cited threats from outside Katy regarding the city’s move but did not elaborate on the specifics or whether law enforcement, such as the Katy Police or the Texas Rangers, would be asked to investigate.
With the Katy downtown square having undergone extensive street and square renovations in recent years, city officials say they want to have downtown events go through the city and not be a privately run enterprise as the Katy Market Day has been.
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Courtesy Betsy Proctor
Betsy Proctor, right, produced Katy Market Days for free for thirty years with her husband Harry, left. A replacement event will happen later this year operated by paid city staff.
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Katy Market Day
Katy Market Day
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Katy Market Day
Katy Market Day
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Katy Market Day
Small businesses sell their products at Katy Market Day.
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Katy Market Day
Some of the products from small businesses at Katy Market Day.
Background on Market Days
Market Days takes place on 10 Saturdays each year from March through December. The event draws tens of thousands of visitors to downtown Katy and features local artisans, food trucks, and family-friendly activities.
Under the City of Katy’s new control, Proctor’s unpaid management of the event will be replaced by a paid staff, prompting the city to create a new position — tourism and marketing assistant — with a salary range of $43,000 to $54,000 according to the city's website.
"It is just really stupid that they would actually hire somebody to do the job that I have done for them," Proctor said.
If City uses Hotel Occupancy Tax money to promote the event, as it has with the Rice Harvest Festival, it would add an additional expense to the city.
Proctor also denies she's earning $80,000 per year as was floated to the Katy Times by Council Member Rory Robertson who provided no supporting documents.
“Robertson said another council member estimates that Proctor is making $80,000 or more annually from the market,” the Times reported and the Times reports Robertson believes she's making too much money.
“Estimates from the city were higher than what we thought was appropriate,” Robertson said.
Proctor scoffed at the estimate that she's earning $80,000 per year.
“Being politicians, they don't understand how businesses work," Proctor said.
She says she pays employees to help with the market and funds the costs of inflatables, a petting zoo, security, and other expenses that make the festival safe and family-friendly.
Response from Mayor Pro Tem
While Mayor Thiele declined to discuss the issue, Mayor Pro Tem Chris Harris explained that the new assistant would work on several projects beyond Market Days and expressed regret that Proctor’s tenure was ending in dispute.
"It’s really very unfortunate, but I do look forward to the new events that we're going to be having," Harris said. "I think it's going to be great, and I think it's going to really showcase our downtown."
Proctor insists, however, that she is successfully showcasing downtown Katy. She says Market Days regularly attracts 2,000 to 4,000 visitors per event, and her December "Old Fashioned Christmas" event typically attracts about 10,000 people. She says the estimates are not hers but those provided by the City of Katy.
"It has been very, very well received and very busy," Proctor said.
The Dispute's Roots
The City’s decision to take over Market Days has raised concerns, particularly about the legality of the City Council’s process. Council member Robertson told the Katy Times that council members were polled individually for feedback rather than meeting as a group, in public to decide the matter, which may have violated open meeting laws.
"Three council members were “in the middle,” Robertson said, while two others wanted to take over the market completely.
The practice of polling members of a governmental board, outside of public view is known as a "rolling quorum" and it is illegal because it bypasses public transparency and quorum requirements for decision-making.
Proctor says she learned of the city’s interest in taking control in July, leading to a $15,000 offer from the city. The agreement would have required her to run the event for another year, train city staff, and turn over all her market-related materials, including her ownership of the logo and name.
"I’d give them the name and the good reputation of Market Days on a silver platter," Proctor said. "I just said no. I didn’t want to be involved with that."
The Proctors Push Back
An email obtained through a public records request has revealed that Proctor and her husband own the trademark for the name "Katy Market Day." As a result, the city will be required to rename the festival when it assumes control in 2025.
"When the city restarts the market in 2025, it will need to change the name 'Katy Market Day' to another name, as we do not want the general public to think we are still in control of KMD," the Proctors' email says.
"When the city is in a position to host future markets, please let us know, and we will send an email letting our past vendors know about the new market."
An online petition urging the city to continue Market Days under Proctor’s management had garnered more than 1,800 signatures as of Saturday morning.
"The people who built this event from the ground up know what makes it special, and they’ve created an atmosphere that truly belongs to Katy," the petition reads.
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Katy Market Day
Fun in the snow at the Katy Old Fashion Christmas.
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Katy Market Day
Santa visits the Katy Old Fashion Christmas
End of an Era
Proctor’s final Market Day event, the Katy Old Fashioned Christmas, was held Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, in downtown Katy, marking the conclusion of a 30-year tradition. The City of Katy is set to take control of the event in 2025.
"It is what it is," City Administrator Bryon Hebert said in a TV interview with ABC 13. "We're ready to run the Market."
That decision had Proctor fighting back tears as she expressed her frustration over the city refusing to block city streets for her festival, effectively shutting it down after today's event concludes.
"Why fix something that's not broken? Why take something and change it?" Proctor asked.
See the KTRK report below.