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On Monday, The Valley Grande Council met at the city hall to discuss old business, new business and the decision to keep the contract with Dave Market or to terminate the contract that was set by the previous council for ten years.

“We’ve got three and half years left on this contract,” Valley Grande Mayor Wayne Labbe said. “Wanda and I looked just at December alone and it was $10,000 and it’s not even the quarter yet.”

Labbe said even though the amount currently stands at $10,000, they are still going to pay the quarterly amount once it gets to it and during the council meeting, he told the members about the possible buyout option with the market that could soon save both parties financially in the long run.

Labbe said the city would usually pay the well-known grocery market about $20,000 to $25,000 quarterly and he told the council with much reassurance that, “We can buy his contract out after this three and a half years for $125,000.”

However, the negotiation process between Labbe and Dave Market Owner Dave Oliver went back and forth before they set a price, with Oliver starting out at $230,000 for a buyout price and Labbe starting at $75,000 for a buyout price, which led to a mutual agreement between the two of $125,000, being the total finalized price.

After much discussion during the meeting about the Dave Market contract and the buyout finalized price, the members of the council approved the city to terminate the contract with the market after three years.

Labbe said the next steps of the process regarding the contract is for the city to get a paper drawn up to terminate the contract and once both parties sign it, they will write a check.

Once everything on both parties’ ends is finalized, it will be effective Dec. 31, which will lead to the council not paying the market this upcoming quarter.