Just call them the bank of Alberni.
City council voted to lend the Port Alberni Chamber of Commerce $300,000 in interim funding at their Monday meeting.
The money will allow the chamber to complete the new visitor’s centre on the Alberni highway.
The principal and one per cent interest are payable on May 31.
The project is underwritten by the chamber, city, ICE-T and Western Economic Diversification Fund.
The chamber has enough money to complete the project, but the wrinkle is in how the money is dispensed, spokeserson Dewayne Parfitt said.
The chamber pays project contractors up front, then submits receipts and invoices to ICE-T for reimbursement, a process that takes six to eight weeks.
But the turnaround time has caused a cash-crunch, Parfitt said.
reporter@albernivalleynews.com