Lantzville resident Joan Moody used to drive by Costin Hall and wonder about the aging sign out front.
“You could barely read it,” she told the News Bulletin. “It had been fading away and the wood needed repair.”But thanks to the efforts of Moody and other Lantzville residents, the old sign has been given a new lease on life after it recently underwent an extensive makeover. Costin Hall and the nearby church are owned by the District of Lantzville, but managed by the Seaside Community Society, which leases the facilities. The hall's sign is a roughly three-metre tall structure that features two wooden signs displayed above a roof-covered bulletin board.Moody, a board member with the Seaside Community Society, said the structure serves as a community bulletin board and was showing its age.
“It was in such a state of disrepair,” she said. “There was moss growing on the roof and there was pieces falling off and the notice board was chalk and wood and it was starting to rot.”The long-term future of Costin Hall is relatively unknown as its fate is still being determined by Lantzville council.
Moody said there was discussion around the idea of installing a newer “bigger and better” sign, but that the society elected for the cheaper alternative of renovation largely because spending thousands on a new sign didn't make sense.
The project cost around $200, according Moody, who said it would have been higher if it wasn't for those who donated their time and resources. Moody said that she along with her husband and Jim Hicks, a contractor, worked on the notice board while Graham Savage repaired the two signs. The project also received support from Nanaimo-based company Erickson Roofing, which donated time and materials to complete the roof portion of the notice board.
Moody said the new sign looks fantastic and that all is all that is left to do is some minor landscaping around the sign.
“We just need to trim some of the trees that have grown over time so that when you are driving along the road you can actually see the sign,” she said.