BOYLE — Residents of Boyle will have a few repaired roads and new and improved recreation amenities to enjoy this spring and summer as village public works staff gear up for and wrap up a number of upgrades and projects.
Village councillors heard an update on the outdoor maintenance to-do list during their April 16 meeting, when CAO Warren Griffin explained what work is expected to take place, and when.
Planned micro surfacing on Clintberg Avenue and Third Street South will take place earlier than scheduled, with crews aiming to be in town for a full day of work the week of May 20. Griffin said the contractor is hoping to get to Boyle earlier after receiving more summer work from the city of Edmonton.
“Kudos to administration for being ready for this stuff; public works and administration working together,” said Mayor Colin Derko. “Sometimes, if you’re not ready for May or the first part of June, you’re not going to see them until September, October.”
The installation of new shale in the in-field and improvements to the backstop of ball diamond one began last week, and could be completed as early as this week, weather permitting.
“We got — pardon the pun — on the ball to get our ball diamonds going,” said Derko.
According to the public works report submitted to council in lieu of a meeting later this month, grass seed for the ball diamond and the skate park has been laid, the power pole for the splash park has been installed, and outhouses have been placed at ball diamond three and the outdoor washrooms.
The walking paths have been checked and cleared of any downed trees or fall risks, and pre-season playground inspections have been completed.
New amenities, more accountability
After the update about the upgrades and projects, councillors also highlighted a need for greater accountability from both the village and recreation facility users when it comes to taking care of the new and improved facilities.
Griffin said the village has purchased base pins for the newly re-worked diamonds on behalf of the local adult ball group. He did point to previous problems with pins in the past, noting locating the pins can disturb the in-field, and said at times the caps weren’t replaced to prevent clogging from debris.
“Take a picture, record it, send it to Warren, and we address it immediately, not a year later. It’s not that anybody’s done anything wrong, I think it’s just that we’ve learnt from the back and forth,” said Derko.
“Do this, and then we can sit down and have a real conversation about level of service and cost of usage,” said Derko. “We need to set the standard, and then we can go with that. ‘See listen, this is what you’re getting, this is what it costs.’”
