Loan will go ahead, but deputy mayor wonders if Carrington Park extension is the priority

Council will borrow $4.25 million for the extension, which has been on the cards for some years.

A preferred concept design for the extension was selected by council at its April meeting last year.

At the June 29 extraordinary meeting of council, where the 2022-23 budget was adopted and public submissions about it were considered, deputy mayor Ben Fry sought to have the extension decision go to a working party.

"I'm just not comfortable with taking out a four-point-something-million-dollar loan for a piece of infrastructure that I don't think is critical," he told his fellow councillors.

"I feel like we should have had a working party prior to this decision."

Cr Fry said he had been elected, at last year's local government poll, on the basis that "we're going to attack a critical infrastructure backlog of almost $100 million".

"I don't see this as critical infrastructure," he said. "I love my rugby league and [see the] absolute benefits of that [the Penrith Panthers NRL match] particular game coming to town every year and that contract is set to continue to late this decade and is not at immediate risk.

"So I don't see the point of attacking it [the grandstand extension] now."

Cr Fry indicated that he was disappointed by the way his submission about the Carrington Park grandstand extension loan had been presented in the papers that accompanied the extraordinary meeting.

In a Western Advocate questionnaire before last year's local government election, Mr Fry said, in regards to rates, that Bathurst Regional Council "should prove to ratepayers that we are sound financial managers before raising the rates".

"I believe we should be addressing most of the $100 million backlog with good strategic planning and a strong presence in Macquarie Street and Canberra," he said then.