THE Eglinton District Tennis Club has an interesting plan for how to repay a $50,000 loan Bathurst Regional Council has just approved.
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Council approved the loan at last week's meeting, stipulating it is to be repaid over a 10-year period at an interest rate of 2.82 per cent.
The club will use the $50,000 to construct accessible toilet facilities as part of its new clubhouse project.
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In a letter to council, club president, Jason Honeyman, explained that the club was not aware it would need to provide the toilet facilities.
"The DA was approved in September and the construction certificate (CC) received recently," he said.
"Plans were submitted with no toilets as the club has sole access to the old public toilets at Cubis Park.
"The DA was approved with no toilets, but during the CC process the club was told it would have to provide a disabled toilet and shower, which was a complete surprise as the DA had already been approved without additional toilet facilities."
While the club has received a grant of $150,000 from the state government, the toilet has added $40,000 to the project costs.
The club proposed council provide the loan of $50,000, with the additional $10,000 to cover "incidentals".
While the club will need to pay the loan back with interest, it has proposed that council assist in paying back 80 per cent of the loan.
In two to three years, when "council's budget has recovered sufficiently", the club wants council to contribute $40,000 to help repay the loan.
Council will not commit to the contribution, but will encourage the club to apply for a Section 356 donation at the appropriate time.
In response to questions from councillors, general manager David Sherley said there was no risk to council.
"It's not a matter of risk for the council. The council is not agreeing to $40,000 at this time," he said. "What is being said is 'We'll give you a loan. Yes, we know you wish to seek $40,000, but that's a matter for a future council to make a decision on'. The risk is theirs, not the council's."
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