After a rocky start, the Dunedin City Council and the trust pushing to build a new aquatic centre in Mosgiel are now on the same page.
More than $700,000 in private donations has already been given to the Taieri Community Facilities Trust and chairwoman Irene Mosley said she was confident it was well on the way to the $7.5million the trust aimed to raise.
A working party comprising Mrs Mosely and trust members Martin Dillon and Bill Feather and three councillors - deputy mayor Chris Staynes, Conrad Stedman and Jim O'Malley - was formed in December last year.
Initially, there was a misunderstanding after the council commissioned Apollo Projects to make a feasibility and design report to include in its budgets for the 10-year plan without first consulting the trust.
Since then, both parties had worked well together and the project had started to gather momentum, Mrs Mosley said.
By the end of March, the trust needed to prove to the council its fundraising was well under way, before public submissions to the long-term plan opened, she said.
All the money raised so far had come from private residents or businesses and the trust was ready to start applying for grants from charitable trusts once their funding rounds opened next month.
''While we don't physically need to have the money in the bank, we need to show there is a real intent to achieve our goal.''
It had only taken about eight months to raise the $700,000 and Mrs Mosley said she would be disappointed if the council did not see that as a serious commitment from the wider Taieri community.
Eventually, another $2.3million would have to come from the community, she said.
Cr Staynes said he was confident there would be a substantial plan for the council to look at before the council's long-term plan was finalised in June.
Council staff and the trust were now on the same page and working well together, Mr Staynes said.
''That's helping it no end.''
Two options for the pool were included in the Apollo report - a six-lane pool at a cost of about $8.25million and a larger eight-lane pool, which included hydrotherapy, toddler and spa pools at a cost of about $11.5million.
Another $2million would be needed for work not accounted for such as landscaping and changes to roading.
The trust has also asked for a report on the cost of a 10-lane main pool, which could be built if the trust raised enough money.
About $6 million for the pool has been set aside in the draft 10-year plan for the 2018-19 year and if the council approved the eight-lane pool, it could be completed by October 2019, the Apollo report said.
