Katherine Mayor Fay Miller has used her casting vote to decide the fate of costly design plans for the town's CBD.
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Council was asked at its monthly meeting last night to decide whether to finish already outdated design plans for the CBD or save the money and bin them.
Aldermen voted on two options - to stop work on design plans for the CBD Revitalisation and allocate the $18,456 saving to the new 50 Cent Park project, or spend the money and buy the plans for future use.
Katherine Mayor Fay Miller said the designs were "seriously flawed".
Council came in for a lot of criticism from residents when expensive plans for shade sails over Katherine Terrace and even heavy vehicle diversion plans were first revealed.
"That original design had five ponds (to be situated along Railway Terrace) and a water park that set us into a panic," she said.
"If we keep these designs they will be out of date and will never be used... I'll have a pile of plans that mean diddly-squat.
"We are never going to put ponds down Railway Terrace. We will never use that design."
Alderman Peter Gazey wanted to press ahead and finish the designs.
"We obviously invested a large sum of grant money into those designs, we are under budget on the new project, if we spend the $18,000... we would have a design developed.
"We could use that in the future.
"If we walk away now we have nothing for the thousands we put in."
The designs were drawn up by the Ashford Architect Group about 10 months after Katherine Town Council was put in charge of $5 million to revitalise the CBD of Katherine.
Contracted at a cost of about $400,000, the architects revealed their plans in May last year.
At a big reveal at council chambers, the architects said they had been briefed to "create something special".
The design included a glass elevator crossing connecting Railway Terrace and Ryan Park, a cafe overlooking the river, lookout decks, self sufficient public toilets equipped with solar panels, adventure playgrounds for adults and children, a bike path around the CBD and upgraded roundabouts.
Those plans were heavily criticised for being unaffordable and heavily reliant on a truck bypass estimated to cost $150 million; some elements, including elaborate shade structures over the pedestrian walks were seen as dangerous.
Those designs were officially scrapped this month when the council revealed new plans to focus all its spending at 50 Cent Park.
Ashford Architects have drawn up new designs to develop the Katherine Terrace park into a town square with toilet facilities, a cafe, shade, and a new town clock.
Council documents state elected members were recommended "that option one be adopted... to avoid unnecessary waste of valuable time and money completing documentation of an old redundant scheme when the savings could be redirected to the new, current Town Square design scheme."
The evenly split vote saw aldermen Elizabeth Clark and Matt Hurley choosing to terminate the plans along with the Mayor of Katherine, and aldermen Peter Gazey, Jon Raynor and John Zelley opting to keep the plans.
"We may be able to use these drawings in the future," alderman Zelley said, "we have already spent x,y,z, what is another $18,000."
The Mayor used her casting vote to decide the issue.
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