Montville ― The Public Works Department has begun an $18,000 project to install a new dance floor in the town’s community center.

The floor will help provide new footing for the center’s dance program, which currently has 24 classes a week for youths and 220 students, according to eight-year Montville resident and dance mom Brittany Casey.

“We have grown by leaps and bounds, even over the last couple years,” Casey said Friday. ”People come from out of town to take this program too. About half are from Montville and half are from other towns.“

At a Sept. 11 Town Council meeting, local dancers and their parents asked the council to help fund the project. The council ended up approving $18,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act for it.

Casey’s two daughters and son have been dancing in the program, under the tutelage of Lana Davidson, who the kids call Ms. Lana, since they came to town.

“For this to kind of finally happen after being told it was too expensive, or ‘oh you’re just a parks and rec program,’ it was really kind of emotional for us,” Casey said.

She said that on the old floor, which was concrete, dancers would end up with bumps and bruises.

The Public Works Department, with the help of local inmates, has started tearing out the old flooring, walls and cabinets in the dance room, Public Works Director John Carlson said Friday.

Then, contractor TLC Floor Center LLC will install a PVC floor with a dance mat that will make the floor more comfortable.

“It certainly will enhance the program,” Recreation Director Peter Bushway said Friday. The floor would be “a large improvement” over the previous tile floor, he added.

d.drainville@theday.com