A group of local citizens is working to bring another recreation option to Plum Coulee.

Jeremy Thiessen is part of the group that purchased an outdoor ice rink from Winkler last fall, however, he says they did so without much of a plan. Since then, he noted some details have come into focus and the group is currently working with the Municipality of Rhineland to find a location for the facility.

A plan is also in the works to make this a community-focused project by involving the public in coming up with ideas on how to use the space during the off-season.

"We're hoping the community comes to us with ideas of what they could see happening there," said Thiessen, noting the possibilities will depend on whether a sand base or concrete base is poured as the surface of the rink.

Once that plan has been established, he added the community will also be relied upon to help fundraise for and construct the facility.

Thiessen explained an outdoor rink for Plum Coulee has been talked about for a while but a pair of attempts never panned-out.

A few years ago a group that got together and flooded a portion of the downtown area and Thiessen said it went over really well, however that option presented some setbacks. Then as recently as a year or two ago there was a group of people looking to build a rink completely from scratch but he said the cost was essentially prohibitive.

"And so when we found out that this rink in Winkler was available, the costs became much more reasonable."

Additional things also began to fall into place that made this new option for an outdoor a viable one.

Thiessen said the hope is to pad construction of the facility by using some leftover items that were salvaged from the old indoor arena after it burned down, and notes a second Zamboni already in town would be used to maintain the outdoor surface.

Meantime, Thiessen says there is a high demand for recreational ice time in Plum Coulee and feels this outdoor rink would help fill that need.

"If anybody's been to public skating in Plum Coulee when they do it on Friday and Sunday nights, it's full," he said, noting the people that will use the outdoor rink are those who won't necessarily get into minor hockey but they still want to play a game of shinny.

The hope is to have the outdoor rink built and ready to go for next winter.