THE Cloncurry mayor’s desire to apply for funding to upgrade Mary Kathleen Memorial Park has been thwarted due to shire councillors against the plan.
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Mayor Greg Campbell’s aim was to seek funding through the state government’s Transport and Tourism Connections Program to upgrade the road.
Council would need to commit about $600,000 towards the project by the next financial year.
Community development manager Karen Grimm said the project would improve car park space, reduce the risk of traffic bottle-necking, and may attract more visitors to the tourist centre and museum.
Councillor Damien McGee said the $600,000 would be better spent on roads in the central business district.
“If someone comes and questions you in the street why we’ve sealed Mary Kathleen Park when there’s a pothole in Gregory Street, try to explain that,” Cr McGee said.
“The reason I know that (will happen) is because I would be one of the persons saying that.”
Once the council applied for the state government funding it would then be committed to the project, he said.
This would mean $600,000 “taken out of the bucket” if council decided to repair one of the main roads in the CBD.
Cr Campbell said no plans had been made to upgrade roads such as Gregory Street, and would waste money if completed before underground water mains were repaired.
“We can’t stop activity in the community that creates business, that creates jobs,” the mayor said.
“We’ve playing catch-up for a number of years and have still got to do projects to keep things happening.
“We’re going to be asked a lot of tough questions from people in the street. That’s why we’re here.”
Although councillors did not technically vote on whether or not the council should seek the funding for Mary Kathleen Memorial Park, the mayor was the only councillor at the table who showed support for it.
Cr Campbell would not have had a councillor to second the motion considering Cr McGee, deputy mayor Dane Swalling and Cr Brad Rix were against it, and Cr Vicky Campbell was absent.
Cr Swalling asked the mayor if anyone had complained about the current state of the Mary Kathleen Park.
“Do we need complaints before we do something about it?” Cr Campbell said in response.