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KUGLUKTUK/COPPERMINE - Mould-free washrooms, a functional kitchen and updated decor are some of the renovations recently completed at the sports and community complex in Kugluktuk.

The renovation project, which included the lobby, the community hall, the kitchen and washrooms, took three months to complete and cost $183,000. With any renovation project there are some unexpected challenges that are overcome with no major issues, said the hamlet's recreation co-ordinator Jessica Van Overbeek. She added the community hosted its Square Dance Showdown and Nattiq Frolics in the renovated facility and the comments were "very positive."

"Everybody was quite happy," she said. "It smelled good, felt good, as well as encouraged people to come in. So (it's) a lot warmer and a lot more inviting than before."

She added the complex can now host regular events throughout the week and the hamlet can invite people from other communities.

Before, the facility was less inviting, she said.

"It was kind of run down and the flooring was coming up. It wasn't in any condition to host any event."

She added people were avoiding using the facility's bathrooms, opting to going home instead, and the kitchen was disorganized and didn't have a stove.

The renovations presented some challenges, such as mould in the community hall wall from a leaky window sill, said Van Overbeek.

"Whenever we took the tarp down to fix up the wall, we noticed there was more mould so they had to take out the frame and rebuild that part of the wall, that section, and make sure there is no mold anywhere on the wood," she said.

"The bathroom floors were a lot worse than we anticipated so we had to redo all of the wood on that, put new floor as well

as new flooring."

The lobby, which was "stuck in the '90s," in Van Overbeek's words, received a new coat of paint. The "Copper room" or meeting room received a new floor and a fresh coat of paint as well.

The kitchen received new floors, organized cupboards, a moveable island, 10-element stove with two ovens and a two-basket fryer. The office, which resembled a storage area before the renovations, received new floors, new paint and the space was reorganized and rearranged.

The bathroom received new non-slip flooring and a new vanity and counter.

Kugluktuk Mayor Ernie Bernhardt said everybody is "very happy" with the renovations.

"We were able to redo the floors, repaint the walls, redo our washrooms for the public and we were able to do a nice big mural on the wall on the stage," he said. "Everybody is happy that they walk into a nice, clean place."

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