Linden Town Council secures $18M to rehabilitate Wismar market roof

Stallholders at the Linden Wismar market will soon be able to ply their trade without any discomfort, particularly during the rainy seasons, as the Linden Mayor and Town Council (LM&TC) receives an $18 million grant from central government.
The acquisition of funds to facilitate the much-needed repairs on the Linden Wismar Market Roof was revealed by Linden’s Town Clerk, Lennox Gasper, on Wednesday, during the LM&TC’s statutory meeting.

“Let me say that the $18 Million has been received as a grant for the council for 2024; we did have a copy of the attachment letter but that letter is not yet formally addressed to us but it would have indicated that they grant is for the rehabilitation of the Wismar market roof,” Gasper announced.
The deteriorated condition of the Wismar Market roof had caused some discord between members of the council, particularly Linden Mayor, Sharma Solomon, and the town clerk.
Last December, Solomon had conducted a walk-through exercise at the town’s Wismar market, where he told stallholders and patrons about the plans his administration has in store for the facility.
One of the issues the Mayor told stallholders the council is working to address, is to repair the market’s roof, however he said these efforts have been futile due to a lack of cooperation from the Town Clerk.
In an invited comment Linden’s Town Clerk, Lennox Gasper told this publication that the Mayor had made a request for some $1 million to be withdrawn from the council’s market emergency fund to purchase Euroband to patch the market’s roof.
Gasper explained that the council’s market emergency funds is only to facilitate minor works. The Town Clerk added that with the current state of the market’s roof, emergency works must be done to reconstruct the entire structure.
This publication was told that a total of $2 million is budgeted from the fund each year for the Wismar and McKenzie markets. With both markets being allotted $ 1 million each.
Noting that the repair of the market roof would cost more than $ 1 million, the Town Clerk revealed that it was suggested that the council should attempt to source financing for the project from the $18 million council subvention.
However, the Town Clerk noted that this decision was quickly shut down by the council, particularly the mayor, who highlighted that a previous request from the clerk to central Government was turned down.
Nevertheless, the council subsequently pursued the suggestion, resulting in the acquisition of the funds.