It looks like some new equipment is on the way for the Ripley-Huron Community Centre and Arena.
Huron-Kinloss Council is considering a proposal to buy a new ice resurfacing machine for the arena.
Staff want the existing unit replaced before it needs any expensive repairs.
New machines cost in the range of 10 to 12 thousand dollars.
Councillor Jim Hanna says the existing machine has, and continues to do a good job but has reached the end of its reliable service life and should be replaced.
Hanna admits “dollars are thin” for the township, but the new machine should be bought while it will still provide reasonable payback.
He says the time for that has maybe even already passed and the resurfacing machine could have been replaced already.
Council has also given pre-budget approval to buy a used snowblower for use at the Ripley-Huron Community Centre.
The snowblower will provide easier access to the building, which has been difficult this winter on weekends during major snowstorms.
The snowblower would have cost over four thousand dollars brand-new. The price of the used unit is 25 hundred dollars.
