If the site can be ready in time, the Comox Valley Farmers鈥� Market could operate at Comox Bay Farm this summer.

Marla Limousin was at Courtenay council Monday, asking if the association could access the former Farquharson Farm site 鈥� which it has identified as the home for its proposed permanent facility called A Place for Agriculture 鈥� for its summer market this April to October if the site can be prepared, the lease and operating agreements can be established and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure approves of the initiative.

To be able to use the five-acre site, there are a few issues that need to be addressed, explained Limousin, the vice-president of the Comox Valley Farmers鈥� Market Association (CVFMA) and chair of the site committee.

Outstanding issues include drainage and levelling of the parking and vendor areas, creating a berm around the perimeter to delineate the farmers鈥� market site from the active farm and investigating what water and sewer look like on site and what it would take to bring in power, she added.

鈥淧eople are anxious to start with the permanent site, and they felt if they could get on the site either this year or next year 鈥� it will depend on what needs to happen to the site this year 鈥� then they would have that beginning of visibility, that beginning of permanence to the membership and to the customers of the Comox Valley,鈥� said Limousin.

The CVFMA has just started a process to review the feasibility of a pilot, multi-partner, not-for-profit governance model for operating A Place for Agriculture, the planned CVFMA facility, and to, upon agreement by identified partners, develop and implement a governing process, she explained.

City staff will draft a lease agreement with landowner Ducks Unlimited Canada for this proposed temporary use and then present it to council for approval, while an operating/use agreement will be established between the city and the CVFMA. The initiative will be contingent on approval from the Ministry of Transportation.

The city would provide assistance with the service connections and some site preparation and would fund this assistance from the 2011 operating budget. The upfront cost of $6,000 to $10,000 would occur only in the first year of the agreement, according to staff.

The CVFMA, in conjunction with the Comox Valley Economic Development Society, proposed a permanent farm market facility on Comox Bay Farm to the City of Courtenay last February.

The process of a capital campaign to raise necessary funds has begun, and discussions to establish on ongoing funding source through an established service have been initiated but have not been resolved, city staff noted in their report to council.

Councillors unanimously supported the temporary farmers鈥� market at Comox Bay Farm this summer, despite some questions whether spending taxpayer money is assisting or subsidizing a business 鈥� an issue that has been raised at the regional district level in relation to creating a service for ongoing funding.

鈥淭he public got used to Farquharson Farms being there for years ... and people missed it not being there,鈥� he said.

Coun. Manno Theos was supportive based on the idea of healthy food and sustainability.

writer@comoxvalleyrecord.com