The council this week unanimously gave the fund the go-ahead and endorsed the proposal for staff to advance a structured procurement approach for its distribution.
Cr McCall said he wanted the eligibility criteria for the fund to be flexible enough to accommodate the "great work" under way in the region.
"I just think it’s a big step forward," he said.
"It’s just so powerful."
Cr Alan Somerville said the fund would prove "very useful" for the future of Otago’s environment.
"Now this isn’t going to solve every problem, no-one’s pretending that, but actually what it is doing, we’ve managed to look at things on a large scale and for those community organisations who are out there, it’s a chance to support them — and also, very importantly, to provide some greater continuity of funding rather than year to year."
A statement from the council yesterday said the $2m a-year fund would in its first year be paid for from council reserves.
It would come into effect from July 1 and was separate from the council’s annual Eco Fund.
A staff report to this week’s council meeting said rather than setting a specific definition for what a "large-scale" project was, the fund would be eligible for projects that fit three principles.
Projects would have an intergenerational impact; they would be driven by communities through local leadership; and the projects would be aligned to the council’s strategic directions and goals as set by councillors, the report said. — APL
