Sand, dirt and outdoor grime have taken their toll on the Canada Games Centre’s (CGC’s) flooring.

City officials, however, are expecting a new janitorial contract will help spruce up the highest traffic area of the recreation complex.

Richard Graham, the city’s acting manager of operations, brought forward a recommendation at council’s Tuesday meeting.

It suggests the next five-year janitorial contract for the CGC be awarded to Millennium General Services for $396,000 annually.

The proposed contract – which would begin July 1 – includes a few changes.

Among them would be a doubling of the how often the floors in the main traffic area are refinished.

Under the current contract, that happens four times each year. It would rise to eight times annually under the new contract.

“That main floor sees a lot of sand,” Graham said.

Foot traffic coming in and leaving the complex has increased substantially over the 10 years the CGC has been open.

Graham spoke after questions were raised by council about the appearance of the floor.

Mayor Dan Curtis noted that while the high use of the CGC is a good thing, the main floor is starting to look tarnished.

The plans to double the amount of refinishing on the floor is one of a couple of changes to the contract for the next five years.

Graham also pointed out the city is expecting to save on supplies like toilet paper, paper towel, soap and others by having city staff make the purchases rather than the janitorial company contracted for the CGC.

As Graham explained, officials believe it would be cheaper to make large purchases of those supplies, which can then be stored by the city.

Currently the city is doing an inventory of all the supplies needed. It’s then expected it will search for a supplier.

Millennium had the second-lowest of four bids on the contract at $396,000, with an additional $25 per hour charge for extra work that may be required for major events such as Spruce Bog and the like.

Philkon Janitorial came in with the lowest bid at $394,000 as well as a $15.50 per hour charge for any additional work at major events. Its bid was rejected for not including required signatures.

The highest bid for the work came from Dave’s Cleaning Services, at $432,000, with a $35-per-hour charge for additional work.

Also bidding on the work was Fil-Can Cleaners Ltd. at $408,000 with a $20-per-hour charge for any additional work.

While Coun. Mike Gladish raised questions about the wages janitorial staff make under the contract, city officials confirmed that it’s up to the contractor to decide how much their staff will be paid within legislative requirements.