The RM of Woodlands held an open house recently, so residents could see the new 1.5 million dollar addition to the public works building, just outside the town of Woodlands.

Deputy Reeve Ila Buchanan says about 150 people were there, noting they'd grown out of the old building.

Ila Buchanan

"We extend on  a new five bay (building), with a wash bay," she says, "It should house all of our heavy equipment, an it is absolutely beautiful. It is a power smart building, I believe, and it is absolutely gorgeous."

Buchanan says it'll also provide increased safety.

"We do have an old fire truck that has been out of commission, when we bought our new one," she explains, "And the town of Woodlands doesn't have any fire equipment because our fire hall is at Warren or at St. Francis. So we will be housing the old Pierce fire truck, and it'll be there for emergency personnel to use."

She sees the money as well spent.

"It was something that needed to be done," she stresses, "Equipment is getting bigger, and certainly beats the heck out of leaving hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment in a parking lot. We will, at some point in time, make it secure with fencing, and it'll be a great use of space, and the wash bay is just a bonus."