A bylaw to transfer $338,637 from the Town of Gibsons parks acquisition fund to the capital projects reserve fund was approved on Dec. 17 by Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development Peter Fassbender.
Town council adopted the bylaw at the council meeting on Jan 12.
Of the total amount to be transferred, $275,000 has been earmarked for the Gibsons Public Market’s (GPM) proposed expansion.
Dana Sauer, GPM executive assistant, said, “The Town of Gibsons contribution of $275,000 will mean the public market can leverage an additional 30 per cent in matching funds, so those dollars will go a long way. As much as the public market capital campaign volunteers may have managed to make their task look easy, anyone who has been involved on the front lines will attest that every dollar raised represents many, many hours of work.”
Sauer said the Public Market just passed the $2 million mark, with $1 million still to be raised. She said that construction is expected to start by the end of February with an opening date set tentatively for the late summer or early fall of this year.
The Public Market is a partnership between the Community Futures Development Corporation, Town of Gibsons, Sunshine Coast Community Foundation and the Gibsons Community Building Society (GCBS). The GCBS is the operator of the Gibsons Public Market and a not-for-profit organization governed by a board of directors and a board of governors.
