AUBURN — An accounting mistake could doom plans for a retrofit of Ingersoll Ice Arena.

City Manager Glenn Aho and Recreation Department staff said the Ingersoll Arena has about $110,000 in liquid cash — not the $763,000 fund balance touted in July when the work proposal was first presented.

Aho said the number presented in July listed the assets controlled by the ice arena. That included cash, but also the land, building and machinery inside the building.

“I do think there is cash we could use, if we want this project to go forward,” Aho told councilors. “That’s why we’re here tonight, to see if we want to proceed.”

Plans call for $454,000 worth of work at the arena. That includes $404,000 to add a second floor with meeting spaces, a warm area for spectators to watch games and bigger locker rooms, and another $50,000 for new bleachers.

Aho said the city could include the arena project in the municipal bond package, increasing the total borrowing from $4.5 million to $4.9 million. The city could also loan the arena money from the city’s fund balances or from unallocated bonded money from other projects.

Councilors are scheduled to vote on adding the money to the bond package at the Oct. 3 meeting. If they approve, the money would be available by December — much later than recreation staff had first hoped. Recreation Department Director Ravi Sharma said he had hoped to have started renovations this month.

“That would work with the downtown we have right about now, but that obviously didn’t happen,” Sharma said. “But we can still make the project work. We can do the outside work in a way that it doesn’t interfere with hockey or ice times. And then when they have to come inside, they can do the work on off times when we don’t have anything scheduled.”

The arena is home ice for Auburn’s Edward Little High School, Leavitt Area High School and the combined Gray-New Gloucester and Poland high school hockey team.

It’s also used by adult leagues and youth hockey programs.

Councilor Mike Farrell said he was convinced the ice arena could still turn a profit and repay the bond money, but other councilors were not so sure.

“When I read this in my packet, I choked on my coffee,” Herrick said. “We had two people come forward to say we had $700,000 to do this work.”

He said he was all for expanding the arena.

“What does it do for me as a taxpayer? Zilch,” Herrick said. “But it’s a great thing for the kids. I don’t have a problem with that. But what I suggest is they go back to the drawing board and maybe find something cheaper.”

Councilor Ray Berube agreed.

“At this point, with the amount of money that seems to be there, after what we were told, I don’t really want to do anything with this project,” Berube said.

Councilors voted 3-2 to put the matter on the Oct. 3 agenda, with Farrell, Belinda Gerry and David Young voting in favor and Herrick and Berube opposing it. Councilor Robert Hayes was present, but did not vote.

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