The Richer Community Club says their rink project is now fully funded and with money to spare.

Dan Geutre is a member of the Richer Community Club and one of three men leading the charge on installing a $360,000 dollar canvas roof over their outdoor arena. He says a $75,000 grant recently announced by the province gives them more than enough to finish the project.

Read more: Richer Close To Starting Work On Rink Roof Project

Once his team receives the official engineer-stamped drawings, which should be any day now, Geutre says they will have everything necessary to begin construction.

“We’re pretty excited to get the actual physical project started and we are on pins and needles waiting for those drawings to come in,” he remarks. “We already have approval from the RM of Ste. Anne, we’ve got a general contractor in place, and we have the materials already sourced out to get the foundation going.”

If everything proceeds as he expects, Geutre says the first shovels could be in the ground yet this fall. His eagerness is shared by many in Richer; the sooner the roof goes up, the sooner the outdoor rink becomes a versatile facility.

Geutre says his community has now been fundraising for their rink for several years (photo credit: Dan Geutre).

The canvas roof will also cover the nearby stage (photo credit: Richer Community Club).“It is a canvas-covered structure over the rink, similar to the golf dome,” describes Geutre, “except our canvas walls will be approximately ten feet off of the ground. It is basically an open-air pavilion on the bottom, but covered from the elements on the top.”

He adds that Richer’s current surplus of funds makes his good mood even better.

As Geutre explains, the unprecedented success of a Chase the Ace fundraiser organized by the Richer Inn earlier this year gave the Community Club virtually everything they needed to finance the project. Then, when the Manitoba Government told confirmed their support, Geutre says money raised from Chase the Ace could be reallocated.

Read more: More Than $110,000 At Stake In Richer's Game Of Chase The Ace

“We have scheduled a special meeting for later in November to discuss how we can target these new funds into other infrastructure projects in the park and around the community in order to improve the quality of life here.”

Geutre says the extra funding will allow them to finish a “ten-year plan” they began in 2012 nearly two years ahead of schedule.

“Richer is a very unique community and we call ourselves 'insanely dedicated'," muses Geutre. "Nothing is out of reach as far as we are concerned.”