BOYLE — Two venues in the Village of Boyle were on the receiving end of much-needed TLC in late May and early June after village councillors approved funds for the capital projects in March.
“Shiny!” was Mayor Colin Derko’s response to pictures of the newly refurbished dance floor at the Boyle Community Centre displayed by CAO Warren Griffin during council's June 5 regular meeting.
“That’s what we want to see,” added Derko.
The parquet floor was refinished near the end of May and beginning of June, the floor’s first major maintenance project in more than 10 years.
Councillors approved the $35,000 project with the passing of their 2024 capital plan on March 6. Griffin told councillors in June that enough material remains for a second refurbish in the coming years before a total replacement floor is needed.
Derko said in a June 14 follow-up the cost for the floor was an investment into the community centre motivated in part by infrastructure longevity, but also in the interest of residents.
“Things like that are things small communities are proud of,” he said. “It always helps to have nice facilities that are kept up — it doesn’t have to be brand new; they don’t have to be super expensive, but they do need to be kept up.”
Fire hall floors
The second venue boasting a newly refinished floor is the Boyle Fire Hall. An epoxy coating was installed over freshly painted concrete, a project village Fire Chief Darren Hill said is much appreciated by the crew.
“It’s a nice change to what we had,” said Hill in a June 12 interview. “Really, really great job, we’re pretty happy with the turnout.”
Griffin also displayed photos of the new fire hall floor during the June meeting for councillors, a visual one councillor said put the project into perspective.
“When they were so adamant that the floor needed to be done, I was like ‘Oh, is this really that bad?’ but now you see it done, you’re like ‘ok, yeah, it was not great,’” said Coun. Shelby Kiteley with a laugh.
“We were probably overdue for that floor, so I’m glad we finally got on it and I’m glad it didn’t get too far away on us,” said Derko.
The $40,000 price tag for the new floors was also approved in the 2024 capital budget. Another $15,000 for the replacement of the second-storey floor in the fire hall was also allocated for this year, a project the volunteer crew tackled on their own in March.
Due to the success of the fire hall’s new coating, Griffin noted new floors for the public works shop will be added to the Village’s list of capital projects in the coming years.
Despite late winter and early spring concerns about drought and another record-breaking wildfire season, Hill said the new floor has gotten a break since its installation.
“We haven’t had many calls recently, knock on wood,” laughed Hill. “Come to think of it, it has been pretty quiet for us.”
