Armidale Mayor Coupland Should Apologise to the Community for Planning to Use Rate Payers money on the Rail Trail to Ben Lomond.

Using the 5.4M Bushfire grant to build a 10Km rail trail to Dumaresq instead of a 34km trail between Black Mountain and Ben Lomond is one thing(it will be the most expoensive one in Australia!). Using rate payers money raised by the 50% rate rise to build the Armidale to Ben Lomond rail trail is another. Do you know how much the ARC is planning to use from rate payers money? $1.8 million as co-payment for a grant, Over $1.00 million for Governance costs, over $200,000 annual maintenance cost(based on Northern rivers rail trails. Our Council says it is only $103,000?). These are only known costs. Unknown costs may include weed spray, CC TV cameras, access to rail trail from private properties, repairs after rain and damage to the rail trail, toilet and shower facilities for cyclists. The decision by 6 Councillors to seek a comprehensive report about the costs to Council and total cost of the rail trail is the right thing to do by the rate payers. Mayor did not disclose his intention to use rate payers money to build the rail trail during SRV consultations? He has to come clean on this failure and apologise to the ARC community.