Hillcrest Facilities team said “happy retirement” to long time member Greg Toma and “welcome” to new hire Clint Ismond in 2025. It was sad to see Greg go but Clint has been a great addition to the staff with his strong work ethic and cheerful attitude. The entire Facilities Team put in a busy year of keeping the building clean and ready for people. During the Ministry seasons our building is used morning to evening 5 days a week, Saturdays during the day often have a group/event and then Sundays till around 7:00. Thank you William, Rosa and Edmar who are working evening and weekends to have the building ready.
I am very glad to report no major problems with the facility or equipment for the year. Our large A/C unit ran at 1/2 capacity all summer as we were waiting for repair parts but we were able to keep the building comfortable. In addition to normal repair and maintenance I try to fit in as many upgrade and painting as I am able. Rooms 104 was repainted and given some new wall décor. Entrance 1 was painted, wall damage repaired and new signage on the walls. Unfortunately the new paint job got damaged within a few weeks so I will working on it again this summer. Job security.
The largest project of the 2025 was the remodel of washroom by Hub 1. We hired a contractor to remove the doors and created a large opening to help with accessibility and traffic flow. The response that I have received is that it looks good and functions very well so I am happy with results. We didn’t have the budget to finish the flooring on the Women’s side but that will be done in 2026.
Two exterior projects of note were more tree care on the property and installation of more exterior lighting around the building. We received Provincial funding for a security audit and one of the items of concern was dark locations around the building. 3 additional lights fixtures were installed in the problem areas. Once we completed the required security audit, that report was used to apply for additional funding to address any shortcoming found by the audit. After many months of paperwork and waiting on approval I am happy to announce we have received the funding which will pay for upgrading our security system and exterior lighting.
The I.T. side of my job involved the computers, printers, tv carts, network, internet and phone system. A lot of what I do is help to solve tech issue for staff members and volunteers using tv carts for bible studies. We are able to stretch our I.T. budget by keeping computers much longer then industry standards but that does come with increase of issues. This year we were able to replace our orginal phone system as parts and support were no longer available. The transition to new phone system went well and the staff is finding the new features very beneficial and easy to work with. Another change in the I.T. department is phasing out of our server which will be a cost saving and allow greater flexibility and mobility.
Thank you to volunteers who work with me on construction projects, A/C cleaning, lawn mowing, event setups, seasonal decorating, interior design and pancake cooking. You all make Hillcrest a better place. Thank you.
Grant Boyd
Facilities and I.T. Director.
Entrance 1
New Washroom hallway.
Donated commercial BBQ. Very nice addition. Thank you.
Thank you Paul.
