THE vendors of Kitty Market who were displaced to facilitate repair works there are likely to return inside shortly, City Engineer Colvern Venture said on Sunday.

Venture had announced at last week’s statutory meeting that the repair work will resume this week.

In an invited comment, he said works are likely to restart by Tuesday.

According to him, focus is being placed on completing the section of the market that will see the vendors now selling on the roadsides, returning inside.

“We want to finish this section so they can now vend in a much safer manner,” he said, pointing out that about 75 per cent of the work on this part of the market has been completed.

Venture said repairs are still to be done on the plumbing and electrical aspects of the structure, together with some concrete work on the floor that they intend to raise.

Asked if the stallholders would be required to pay an increase in rent, Venture said: “I would expect that the stall rental would be increased because we spent a lot of money on the market. But I am not the person to pronounce on that; maybe the full Council will decide.”

The City Council had set countless deadlines for the re-opening of the market; before the end of this year’s first quarter being the last such.

The renovation of the market, which is also a historical site, was often put on hold due to financial constraints of the City Council.

Mayor and City Council (M&CC) Public Relations Officer,Debra Lewis had said that the market could not be completed for 2016 because the municipality was cash-strapped.

“We are working as the finances come to the municipality and we are not getting a grant to do this project; it is merely the rates collected that are being used.”

Town Clerk Royston King had confidently said last year that the market would have had a November 1 opening, just in time for the Christmas season.

At that time, only 65 per cent of the works had been completed.

MANY APPLICATIONS

The M&CC has received more than 170 applications from citizens who wish to occupy new stalls in the market, the ground floor of which is costing the Council roughly $35M.

The market, which has great historical significance and bears much pride for the Kitty community, is to feature a traditional health centre, an office for the payment of rates and taxes, and space for the community’s councillors.

“We are also contemplating putting some space for the councillors’ office at the market; and this is not only at Kitty, but wherever we have municipal buildings, we intend to make space available for councillors working with their local communities,” the town clerk had said.

According to him, there will be a decentralisation of Council’s work, as the market will take into account the needs of communities between Cummings Lodge and Kitty. The upper flat of the market is being re-modelled to include a rates and taxes office, as well as a municipal clinic.

“People from Cummings Lodge to Kitty don’t have to come all the way to City Hall to pay their rates and taxes. We are aiming to re-introduce the system that was in place many years ago,” Mayor Patricia Chase-Green had told the Chronicle.

The Kitty Market was established in 1882, two years after the Bourda Market had come into being. Like the Bourda Market, Kitty Market is timber-framed. The 19th century structure had suffered massive deterioration over the years prior to its renovation, causing vendors operating in its environs to lodge numerous complaints with the City Council.