Central Otago District Council (CODC) councillors spent nearly an hour at yesterday's community services committee meeting debating a motion to contribute $20,000 towards a sport and recreation study, before deciding for the second time they were not ready to vote on the issue.
Last month, councillors also tabled a motion about the proposal, after many were concerned the plan would promote new facilities in larger towns at the expense of smaller ones, which would mean Central Otago would lose its autonomy.
Many councillors yesterday were still concerned.
They said once the study was done decisions about where to site new facilities would be made by funders according to ''the master plan''.
They voted to table the motion again, wanting more information from the Queenstown Lakes District Council about its role in the plan.
The motion is to contribute towards the development of ''a strategic vision and plan for the future development of appropriate and sustainable sport and recreation facilities'' in the Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes districts.
The suggestion has come from Sport Otago, but the Central Lakes Trust (CLT) has also been pushing for the plan.
Sport Otago chief executive John Brimble spoke at the community services committee meeting and said the plan would ''absolutely not'' promote Queenstown Lakes interests over Central Otago's.
He said it would avoid duplication and allow for future planning.
''It's about ensuring equity . . . it's not about giving everything to Queenstown, it's looking at the sub-regions in the whole of Central Otago, where are things best to be placed,'' he said.
However, many councillors were unconvinced.
Councillor Stu Duncan said there was a ''real risk'' small towns would miss out.
He questioned whether ratepayers should help fund the plan and whether it would report anything new or just information individual sports clubs and bodies already knew.
He also said it was not for Sport Otago or funders such as the CLT to decide where new facilities went, and if groups wanted to advocate for new facilities in their regions they should be entitled to do so.
Mayor Tim Cadogan was also concerned, and said he had spoken to another mayor in a district where a study had been done.
He was told ''the little guy doesn't win in that situation, and that troubles me deeply''.
Some councillors said there was merit in having an assessment done of sports facilities, but did not like the ''prescriptive'' approach the plan could have if it dictated where new facilities should go.
Councillors also feared a plan could soon become outdated and asked for more information.
