Benalla’s Graeme Schneider bought the Dimboola Hotel in 2014, after the court ordered previous owner Paul Rintel to demolish it. 

Mr Rintel bought the pub’s freehold for $1 in October 2004 – one year after it was gutted by fire. 

Mr Schneider hosted a meeting for the community on Saturday to discuss the future of the site.

He said about 50 to 60 people attended the meeting.

”There was a tree planting ceremony, which was to acknowledge the Aboriginal presence in the region,” he said.

”We talked about how I got involved in the saga and where we hope to get to.

“We asked for opinions about what people want to see happen.”

People at the meeting were asked to share ideas about what they wanted to see at the site.

The most common answers were opening it for community use, creating a park, using the site to grow food and creating a exercise area. 

Dimboola resident Mary Clarke is working with Mr Schneider on the project.

She said when the hotel was demolished, there was a lot of grief and anger in the community.

“People thought that it was unnecessary to knock it down,” she said.

“But at the end of the day, the community just want to move forward and hopefully create something that will attract more people to the town.”

Ms Clarke said she hoped the space would be turned into a town hub, which would include somewhere to eat and training rooms.

“There was also interest in using it for health services,” she said.

“We want to create something that will bring the entire community together and bring back a bit of life to the town.”

Ms Clarke said they were also working with traditional land owners and the Barengi Gadjin Land Council on the project.

She said she would now start investigating a plan and ensure a hub would be sustainable and financially viable.

Ms Clarke said a community building could have a flow on effect to other businesses in town.

“There are a lot of empty shops in the main street,” she said.

“This could be a way forward in attracting more people to town and encouraging other businesses to open.”

Mr Schneider said his goal was to continue to clean up the site.

“Then we will work forward from there,” he said.

“We want to try to get the community to take ownership of the site.”