BAYSIDE'S council-run childcare centres will undergo a $280,000 upgrade.
The works, which will be carried out over the three-week Christmas break, were approved at a council meeting last week.
The Hampton centre will be repainted, and floorboards and ceiling panels replaced. The Sandringham centre gardens will be landscaped to improve the outdoor play area. New carpet tiles and a laundry bench will be installed.
Bayside council community services director Kaylene Conrick said the works would address the urgent maintenance requirements to keep the centres operating.
"The cost of the improvements will be covered by funds set aside in council's budget to pay transition costs if council had withdrawn from running the centres itself," Ms Conrick said.
Council reneged on their plan to sell the two centres after a year-long community campaign to have the centres remain in non-profit hands.
Council voted against entering into a 30-year lease with a private operator in September after initially awarding the tender in July.
Council also announced a fee rise to $108, an increase of between $9 and $16 a day. Ms Conrick said the rise brought fees in line with scheduled increases that were put on hold during the tender process.
She said the median child care fee in Bayside was $111.45 a day. "The fees cover the operating costs of the centres but do not cover the maintenance required on the two centres," Ms Conrick said.