A decision on plans for a clock in Cromwell - funded by the local Rotary Club - has been put on ice.
The Cromwell Community Board deferred a decision on the proposal during its meeting this week, pending more information about electricity supply at suggested sites for the structure.
Rotary had hoped the "gift" of the clock would commemorate 40-year celebrations for the club in November.
A report from Central Otago District Council parks officer Marie Gordon said the proposal was to construct a standalone pole with an analogue clock that would be illuminated at night with an LED display that alternated between the temperature and the time.
The clock is expected to cost about $16,000.
The Murray Tce side of the town's Big Fruit Reserve was considered as a possible location during discussions between the council and the club.
Ms Gordon's report recommended the proposal be rejected.
However, if the project did proceed, the council would cover operating costs.
Ongoing development and uncertainty around the Cromwell master plan were identified as key factors in the council's recommendation.
"With that work not yet completed to guide this kind of proposal, and any others that may arise, it is considered that there is an ill fit between the proposal and the intention committed to in the Cromwell master plan spatial framework," the report said.
Rotary representatives, however, said at the meeting they believed they had been "led up the garden path" over the matter after three months of discussions.
"I didn't know it was so hard to give something away," a Rotary representative said at the meeting.
Community board chairman Neil Gillespie agreed with council's reasoning and that it was "important to get it right first".
Both the council and the club would continue to explore alternate sites alongside Delta Services Ltd for the clock.
