There is some support among Watertown lawmakers for a $50,000 study to determine the feasibility of adding on to the municipal arena for a second sheet of ice.

The City Council sat down Tuesday for its second budget workshop in as many nights and, while no formal votes were taken, it kept every project it reviewed in the $7.4 million capital budget. Included are the funds for the feasibility study and $650,000 to install metal roofing on the municipal arena, which is at the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds.

There seems to be varying degrees of interest on the council about funding a second sheet of ice, which some city staffers believe may cost nearly $4.5 million.

"I'd be willing to go along with the $50,000 study," said Councilman Peter L. Clough. "But I still have a lot of questions about the project."

Councilman Jeffrey M. Smith has lobbied the council for the second sheet of ice that, he said, will bring tourism dollars to city businesses.

"We need summer ice," he said.

Mayor Jeffrey E. Graham said he needs more information about the project. "Much of this I'm hearing for the first time," he said of the cost estimates. "This would institutionalize a lot of costs in the future."

The single sheet of ice at the municipal arena is thawed in the spring so conventions and other events can be held there. Numerous groups, including the Watertown Hockey Association, have lobbied the City Council to fund the second ice sheet and a building to house it.

Superintendent of Public Works Eugene P. Hayes said the city could expect to spend $300,000 to $400,000 for a company to design a building to house the second sheet. The building would then cost about $4 million to construct.

The council agreed to allow the Watertown Hockey Association to present its fundraising plans at the council's regular meeting Monday night.

Also included in the capital budget are the redesign and improvements to the J.B. Wise parking lot. That project is expected to cost $1.2 million. Breen Avenue is scheduled to be reconstructed at a cost of $2 million. The road acts as a north-south connector between Arsenal and Coffeen streets.