Heather Wright/The Independent

Brooke-Alvinston’s municipal staff have been working with Victoria Playhouse Petrolia staff and officials from the Sarnia Community Foundation as it considers raising some cash to help fund a $2 million renovation of the Brooke-Alvinston-Inwood arena floor.

The municipality has been staring down a $2 million bill to repair the ice making equipment in the arena floor. It applied to the Ontario community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund earlier this year and was awarded up to $1 million from the province to pay for half of the project. The municipality will fund the rest. That may come in the form of a low-interest loan from Infrastructure Ontario or reserves from the municipality.

But Clerk/Administrator Janet Denkers, in a report to council, says they’re also considering fundraising options.

“We have recently connected with the Victoria Playhouse Petrolia Fundraising staff on initiatives they are using to fund their Reaching New Heights Campaign of $4 million. Staff in Petrolia have been very helpful and offered some grassroots ideas to get started,” she writes.

“We have also had preliminary discussions with the (Alvinston) Killer Bees to assist with some fundraising initiatives including a request for rounding up ticket sales to go towards the project.” She added the hockey team was open to helping with other fundraisers.

Denkers also met with the Sarnia Community Foundation which could help by accepting donations, providing tax receipts and turning the money over to the municipality.

Denkers says it will take a couple of months for staff to figure how much fundraising will be done for the project.

Meantime, the staff is also connecting with regular summer users of the arena to make plans for the spring. The work is expected to begin when the ice comes out and should be done before the ice is needed.

Denkers says the annual Canada Day kids ball hockey tournament could be held on the soon-to-be refurbished tennis courts. The municipality is also working with the Lambton Cattlemens’ Association on alternatives for the annual beef barbecue. Denkers suggests a large tent may be a possibility.

The local fair also uses the arena in late September before the ice goes in. Denkers says construction should be complete by then.