RM of Macdonald council is taking the first step in helping fund the upgrades at the Starbuck arena. RM of Macdonald Reeve Brad Erb says residents communicated support for council to move ahead in supporting the upgrades.

"It seemed like there was support for the local improvements in place to work on the enhancements and upgrades at the arena so we had a resolution in front of council to direct administration to bring a local improvement borrowing bylaw for it's first reading at our next meeting on March 8th. "

Erb notes having the public hearing was a great first step.

"It was a significant step. We have to have a public hearing process so that will be a greater barometer as to what the community is saying but this meeting seemed to be well attended and there was a lot of support there. That gave us a bit of comfort in moving forward in the process. "

He notes the current proposal is a $300,000 debenture at it's max which represents 50% of the project cost. The rest would be collected through fundraising, grants and donations.