COBDEN — The building used by the Cobden Farmers Market will be renovated, hopefully in time for the market to open in mid-May.
Last December, a water pipe split due to old age causing thousands of dollars worth of damage inside, said Ernie Wilson, president of the market. It happened just before the Christmas market, which meant the vendors scheduled for inside the building, had to be relocated. A location was found at the Cobden Pentecostal Church.
The vendors recently met to discuss the options the market has. Mr. Wilson explained that the owner of the building, the Cobden Agricultural Society, has opted not to put the damage through its insurance because it would force an increase to the insurance for a building it doesn’t really need.
“I completely understand why the Ag Society would not put it through the insurance,” he said.
However, the vendors feel the building fills their requirements for a market, he said.
“It was unanimous by the committee that we would go ahead, and by all of the market vendors who attended the meeting, that we go ahead and get quotes on redoing the market,” Mr. Wilson said.
Half of the inside of the building, which is located on the fairgrounds, has been separated by a plastic sheet. The back half of the interior was not damaged, while the front half suffered severe damage. The counter in the kitchen area will have to be pulled out and a new one put in, he said. As for the cupboards, as far as he knows, with some cleaning up they should be okay.
Along with the damages that will have to be repaired, Mr. Wilson noted there are a few other issues that have to be fixed, such as putting a push bar on the front and back doors.
“We should be able to maintain the kitchen we have, but someone will have to come in and evaluate further to find the damage that we don’t see,” Mr. Wilson said.
The Cobden Farmers Market completed about $65,000 worth of renovations last year, he said. It’s expected this renovation will be a minimum of $30,000.
“We’ll have to go out and get quotes on the renovations to bring (the building) back up to code,” Mr. Wilson said.
The market association has no funds, he said.
“We will be doing fundraising, plus we’ve received a lot of financial support from the community and from some vendors,” he said.
The fundraisers have yet to be determined, he added.
“We are planning on a farmers market come May,” Mr. Wilson said.
