Flin Flon’s favourite statue of a fictional explorer is going to get a slight makeover this summer.
Renovations for the famed statue of Josiah Flintabbatey Flonatin will move ahead later this summer after Flin Flon city council approved spending five figures to fix the sculpture.
Under the new measure, the City will spend up to $10,000, joining a commitment from the Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce.
Chamber members had previously raised $20,000 of an estimated $30,000 repair cost through donations and grants to cover work to the statue. A letter from the chamber, signed by chamber vice-president Kory Eastman, was accepted as correspondence by city council during their June 16 meeting, not long before the new funding was approved.
“They have to make commitments now, so we’re covering the difference up to $10,000, so that’ll get us to $30,000 for sure,” said Mayor Cal Huntley.
“The old man will look better. He’s going to be getting a facelift.”
“This was a pleasure to do this resolution. It’s a well-needed project,” said councillor Karen MacKinnon, who said work on the statue is expected to begin on the statue by the end of June.
The idea of renovating the statue has been discussed as long ago as 2017, when chamber members discussed fundraising options for work on the statue site. At the time, repairs to the statue’s structure and a new coat of graffiti-proof paint were on the docket.
Exact details on what the project may entail weren’t available at the meeting, but the work is considered more extensive than previously thought.
Since discussions were first held in recent years, the statue sustained damage after people began to climb up onto the statue and its base. Foot traffic to the statue increased when the augmented reality smartphone game Pokemon Go was launched - after one of the game’s Pokestop locations was set right next to the statue, reports increased of people found climbing on Flinty or throwing rocks at the plaster explorer.
Huntley said the statue may be moved for repairs, but not far. The statue may be removed from the base so work can continue on the platform, but Flinty itself will stay at its site during and after construction.
“It’s not leaving the site. We were talking about it earlier - it sounds like it may have to be removed and fixed and brought back. It will be done in place,” said Huntley.
“They may not actually have to put it anywhere else.”
Large-scale repairs haven’t been made on Flinty since the 1990s. Local businesses and volunteers were tasked with doing the work, but the City is likely to rely on out-of-town workers to get the job done. A contractor experienced in working with similar large tourist attractions has been enlisted from Alberta, according to council members. No specific company was named during the meeting, nor were any changes to the exact statue design.
On the subject of the renovation, Huntley made sure to mention that a certain easter egg with the Flinty statue - how the left thumb of the statue, when looked at directly from the west, can look like and is positioned as if it were a penis - will be preserved.
“His thumb is going to keep pointing in the right direction - that’s the important thing,” Huntley quipped.
