The Boorowa to Galong Rail Trail has hit a bump in the road following a rejected amendment that would have seen funds from the Bango Wind Farm Enhancement Fund go towards an Environmental Impact Study, rejected by Council.
During the August meeting, the allocation of funds from the Fund were deferred, at the Extraordinary meeting held on Wednesday September 5, Cr Tony Flanery seconded the motion and asked for an amendment to be added that would see some of the funds from the other recipients reallocated towards the application for the Rail Trail.
Cr Ingram spoke for the amendment, however, ultimately, the motion was lost and the original recommendation from the Bango Wind Farm Enhancement Fund Committee was adopted.
"I think we have to go to an amendment because that's what the Bango Community Enhancement Fund Committee has recommended," Cr FitzPatrick said.
Cr Flanery said that the Rail Trail needed $20,000 to pay for the EIS and had received $10,000 from the Galong Mine Enhancement Fund, and would still be short if the amended recommendation had been adopted, however, it would allow the progress of the initial stage of the potential project.
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"One of the documents that's missing is the (Environmental) study to the bridges," Cr Flanery said.
"We have a dying community at Galong that have put up significant funds to support various studies, feasibility studies into the Rail Trail, there's a small but dedicated group at Boorowa who haven't been so fortunate in getting funds, but it will be of little benefit for Council to bring the report back in October.
"There's two choices, either Council can put up the money for the (Environmental) study or we utilise some funds through VPA (Voluntary Planning Agreement) or community enhancement funds, as is the Bango Wind Farm."
Cr Flanery explicitly stated that he was not in a position to be able to allocate the full amount the Rail Trail had applied for, but he said that he could give them funding to go towards to EIS.
"As a Councillor, I can't sit here and award $10,000, or consider $10,000, for a missing piece, when I look through that list and all of them are no doubt worthy," Cr Flanery said.
"There are some that I look and think, I wonder why they missed out and I don't know, cause we haven't seen the reports come up, but it still leaves the Boorowa Galong Rail Trail short by $3,500 on their $20,000 that they will need, but I think it's a good start and it will help us make an informed decision."
He said the way he had worked out the allocation hadn't taken huge amounts from any of the successful applicants.
"I don't think I have, for want of a better way of doing it, docked anyone to the extent that's going to affect their project, there will be further funds forthcoming, the most anyone's lost is $1,000 and Galong Boorowa Rail Trail will have to go back to the community or to Council, but I do believe that those two communities would benefit enormously from the Rail Trail, but we need to know the facts," he said.
Cr John Piper who was the Council member on the Enhancement Fund Committee said that the concerns of the committee members and the community ultimately lead to the decision that the application for the Rail Trail not be accepted by the committee.
"We had a meeting yesterday afternoon," Cr Piper said.
"The reasons that we decided not to go with them, again, was there was no guarantee to the proceed, its a very long term project, still requires Council approval, we still have to make a decision on what we're going to do with the land that this is going to go over.
"There are a few biosecurity issues, not many, approvals aren't in place yet for where the trail will go, as there is quite a bit of conjecture."
Cr Flanery then asked Cr Piper a question in regards to the committee decision.
"If this will provide one of the baseline studies required to determine whether Council should or shouldn't support it, how can you support a project, that you're not willing to support the study into providing you with that information?"
"The reason given was that there is already, and as Cr Flanery knows, the Trail has just got another $10,000 off another form of grant," Cr Piper said.
"Which is half the money they need," Cr Flanery said.
"As a committee that's what we came up with and decided not to go ahead with it," Cr Piper said.
The amendment was lost with Cr Flanery, Cr Ingram and Cr Mackay voting for the amendment and Cr Foreman, Cr FitzPatrick, Cr Roles, Cr Piper and Cr Dodd voting against it. The original recommendation was then put forward and passed with Cr Foreman, Cr FitzPatrick, Cr Roles, Cr Piper and Cr Dodd voting for the recommendation and Cr Ingram, Cr Flanery and Cr Mackay voting against it.
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