THE Friends of Centennial Park have welcomed the commitment of more funds to the malnourished Bathurst park just outside the central business district.
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A report on future funding for the park was up for determination at the December ordinary meeting of Bathurst Regional Council.
It proposed a plan that would ensure funding for an estimated $4.5 million upgrade could be accumulated in a more timely manner, and that some of the work could start as early as the 2020-21 financial year.
The report recommended that council rollover the $250,000 allocation in the 2019-20 budget to the following financial year.
In addition to that, director of Engineering Services Darren Sturgiss wanted a further $250,000 to be provided in the 2020-21 budget so that an automatic irrigation system can be installed at the park.
He also recommended that council provide annual funding of $250,000, to be placed in reserve from 2021-22 to build towards the future construction of the Centennial Park landscape design, which council adopted in February.
The recommendations were unanimously accepted by the councillors, who voted in favour of them at the meeting.
Their favourable vote came after some positive comments from members of the Friends of Centennial Park group, who chose to speak during the public forum that preceded the meeting.
Vianne Tourle noted that council had consulted with the group prior to the report being prepared.
"It was a productive and informative meeting in October and we thank you and all your staff for your perseverance through all the things that we've seen, which includes scoping studies, concept plans and now the first allocation of funding," she said.
Given that there will likely be a couple of new faces on council at the end of 2020, Ms Tourle said it was important that a financial plan be put in place for Centennial Park now.
"Please put in place the best possible future for the park and I think this is one way of doing that," she said.
Another member of the group, Peter Simmons, said the allocation of funding would ensure the park is irrigated sooner than otherwise would be possible and maintenance of the park increased.
Both are going to be important to keep Centennial Park in better condition for the future.
"We're a growing city, we're conscious of that, and we're conscious that in the future we will need every public green space, like Centennial Park, that we can get our hands on," Mr Simmons said.
