General News
26 February, 2025
Funds request for rail trail rejected
COUNCILLORS have rejected a request to take $54,000 from Tablelands Regional Council’s fleet budget to boost the funds available to fix a rail trail crossing for cyclists.
To fix the rail crossing at Rocky Creek will now require a budget of $189,896, with $100,000 to be funded by grants and $45,000 currently in council funds. The job is to be done by a private contractor.
But officers say to complete the whole project, another $54,896 would be required and recommended it be taken from the fleet budget which was underspent.
“This recommendation does not increase the 2024/25 capital program but rather moves already approved funds from one project to another,” a report to the January council meeting stated.
But Crs Kevin Cardew and Con Spanos made it clear they did not think the funds should be taken from the fleet budget.
Cr Cardew said he would not agree to spending money earmarked for fleet to “prop up” the rail trail.
“How can we justify taking $54,000 out of the fleet renewal project budget and throw into the other project?” he said.
“Haven’t we put enough into this rail trail? When’s it going to stop?
“I would think that our fleet renewal project would be far more important than throwing this money – ratepayers’ money – into this project.
“Our fleet is diminishing – we need additional fleet to have the capacity to do inhouse projects like fix our roads, fix our potholes, and fix our drainage. Buy a bobcat with it.
“I do not support taking money out of our fleet budget to prop up a crossing for push bikes at Rocky Creek.”
Officers told the councillors that the fleet ordered would not come until next financial year and advised that the budget was underspent.
Cr Cardew suggested that if the budget was underspent, there were other useful ways to utilise the funds.
Cr Spanos said he had personally ridden to the area and viewed the damage and questioned why the council could not undertake the job rather than sending it out to a private contractor.
“I think that at some stage we could possibly repair that with our own resources, just enough to make it a bike trail, rather than having to spend nearly $200,000 to repair that small section under the bridge.
“I rode it the other day and had to get off my bike to get across – remember guys, this is a bike trail, this isn’t a road, it’s a bike trail.
“I feel the same as Kev – these funds can be allocated elsewhere.”
Council rejected the recommendation to use the fleet money for the bike trail project, with Crs Cardew, Spanos, Lang and Haydon voting against it.
