On a recent afternoon, 120 children buzzed around the second floor of the Boys &Girls Club of Oak Harbor.

Most were engaged in a game called Sharks and Minnows, which allows kids to cut loose and chase each other, creating a collective din of shrieks all trapped inside the cavernous Roller Barn roof.

It’s not uncommon for the number of kids to climb by 30 during a typical afternoon, bringing together waves of youth from ages 5 to 18 who come to play, snack, rest or study.

The challenges for staff to direct diverse programs in what is essentially an open bay environment in a converted roller skating rink is part of what is driving an effort to find a new home for Oak Harbor’s Boys &Girls Club.

A community group made up of longtime club supporters and staff has formed a building committee that has been busy in recent weeks, meeting with key city and state leaders in an attempt to gain support for an ambitious plan to construct a new facility that not only would benefit the Boys &Girls Club, but also other organizations and the community.

The group identified a potential piece of property on Whidbey Avenue owned by the City of Oak Harbor, located between city’s Senior Center and fire department, where it envisions building a modern facility with multiple rooms and a gymnasium that also could house offices for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Island County, which currently is located on the land.

The group has been working with city staff to explore the possibilities of leasing that land.

The Oak Harbor City Council passed a resolution Tuesday night in support of the group’s efforts to construct a new center somewhere in the city and to obtain support from the city’s legislative and senate delegation to obtain capital funding through the state capital grant program.

The support of the council was unanimous.

Council member Joel Servatius expressed particular confidence in the abilities of the working group’s members, pointing to ongoing volunteer efforts in the community by longtime Boys &Girls Club supporters Duncan and Kathy Chalfant and Greg and Lynn Goebel.

“There are a lot of great volunteers,” Servatius said, “but I think you’re looking at four of the best right there that really believe in this community. I wholeheartedly support this.”

“I love that there’s an opportunity to explore this, even if that’s all it is is an opportunity,” said council member Tara Hizon.

She directed her comments to the group that was in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting, including the club’s director, Nikki Barone, who spoke briefly.

“I’ve had the pleasure of spending some time at the Boys &Girls Club,” Hizon said. “I don’t know how you do what you do in the space that you do it. Anyone who’s ever been in there when there are almost 200 kids, the space is woefully inadequate. I’m beside myself excited and really hopes that this works out.”

The group estimates that building a new facility on the Whidbey Avenue site would cost $3.6 million. Financing would come through a variety of local, state, federal, public and private donations and grants, including the sale of the Roller Barn property after the new facility is completed.

The Boys &Girls Club of Snohomish County owns the Roller Barn. Oak Harbor is considered a unit of that club.

State representatives Norma Smith and Dave Hayes both toured the barn and listened to a presentation from the group about the plan to build new facility.

“We just completed an application for a budget request through the state that Dave Hayes was going to make a member request for us,” Greg Goebel said. “We’re requesting a million dollars to get it started.”

The vision is to open a new Boys &Girls Club on the Whidbey Avenue site in four years.

The new facility would feature adequate office space, a kitchen area, arts and crafts room, computer lab, homework/quiet room, gymnasium and outside play area.

The location would be ideal since it is near the community swimming pool and skateboard park and could share the gym with the Senior Center, the group contends.

But parting ways with the Roller Barn isn’t an easy proposition.

There are strong emotional attachments, Barone said.

The Roller Barn has been home to the Boys &Girls Club since 1997.

“We all love this building,” said staff member Natasha Hilliard, who works the front desk.

“I’m kind of sad,” said staff member Rylee Joseph, who came to the club as a child. “This place feels like home.”

“I grew up in this building,” staff member Erika Aguilar said.

Few will argue that the club, with 490 members, has outgrown the barn with more growth projected in the future.

Duncan Chalfant said the stark reality is that the barn is 103 years old and will soon need a new roof. He’s replaced more tiles on the roof than he can count over the years.

The lowest estimate he came across to replace the roof is about $80,000.

Remodeling the barn also would be cost prohibitive.

“We kind of knew at some point the barn wasn’t going to last forever,” Chalfant said. “We thought, ‘We can’t change the barn. We need a new place. Maybe it’s just time.’ We started looking around.

“We’ve had this thought for a while. We’d just never done anything.”

If the vision holds up, the plan would be to open a new facility in four years.