The main discussion at last week’s Cobar Shire Council Ordinary Meeting was whether or not council should go ahead and build a new truck wash.
Cr Peter Maxwell put a rescission motion to the meeting calling for council to reconsider building a new truck wash which he said had morphed from an estimated initial cost of $30,000 to $600,000.
Cr Maxwell said he felt that a contribution to the project of $300,000 by ratepayers was too big of a cost on council’s budget.
He said there was also still some work to be done to work out how much council and the public would use it.
“It’s too much money, $335,000 and ongoing maintenance. It could end up being an albatross around our necks,” Cr Maxwell said.
Cr Bob Sinclair said he felt the first estimate council had been given for repairs to the old truck wash had not been “a realistic commitment”.
He said the figure greatly increased after they re-examined what the town and shire needed from a truck wash facility.
Cr Sinclair said he didn’t believe council’s current truck washing practices were currently fulfilling their environmental obligations and that if council did not use the $325,000 grant money they had received to help build a new truck wash, they would have to hand it back.
“We gave commitments to the community, especially the rural community, that we would replace it,” Cr Sinclair said.
The rescission motion was lost 6-2 with Cr Julie Payne calling for a division so it would be noted that she voted in favour of the rescission.
