The need for air conditioning in the Watson Arts Centre has been well known for years, if not decades.

Now the centre will begin fund-raising towards fulfilling that need.

The fund-raising campaign, titled “Make the Watson the Coolest Building in Town”, is looking for donations from area residents.

“Technically, it’s heat pump technology. But it’s been talked about for years, but the costs were just too high. But the technology has progressed so much and the price has come down so much that it’s within doable range,” said Cam Bennet, chair of the Dauphin and District Allied Arts Council (DDAAC).

The council has raised some funds already. They were the beneficiary of a fund-raising barbecue hosted by Westman Communications Group in June and Fusion Credit Union has donated $15,000. Another business has stepped up to the tune of $35,000.

“And we’ve got some reserves from the Roger Watson Fund, the Roger Watson donation from several years back,” Bennet added.

“We would prefer not to dip into the reserves and deplete them completely, which is why we’re doing the campaign. The reserves are there. It’s just a matter of how much are we able to dip into them.”

The campaign’s goal is to raise $12,000 and have the heat pump technology installed in June 2025.

The funds are in place, but the money raised from this campaign will go to taxes and any additional costs that may pop up.

Read the full story in this week’s Dauphin Herald.