THE council wants to have its new aquatic centre plan "shovel-ready" in 18 months.
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But it admits there is still a bit of work to be done on the potentially $67 million project.
Tamworth Regional Council endorsed an $80,000 budget for a "leisure planner" to advise on the design of the project.
The mayor, Col Murray, wants the council to be ready to apply for government funding in a "about a year and a bit".
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"To bring these projects to a shovel-ready stage it is quite a detailed program of works that need to be done to be in a position to be eligible for those large amounts of funding," he said.
"Council resolved to engage a specialist leisure planner to assist with the development of the planning process.
"It is targeted to be shovel-ready, ready to go for government funding in about a year and a bit so there is still a bit of work to go."
The leisure planner will help the council with the "preparation of a design brief, specifications and scope of works to be used ... to engage a lead designer".
The leisure planner will be partly-funded with $35,000 from the "Tamworth Regional Aquatic and Leisure Centre" preliminaries budget.
Up to $65,000 of additional funding will be allocated from the regional services civil construction reserve to provide $100,000 for the planner and for internal project management staff expenses.
"The design brief will detail the aims, objectives, and operational requirements of the facility to achieve the community outcomes within the business case," the council report said.
It comes just weeks after the council released and sought feedback on its draft Bicentennial Park masterplan.
The document revealed the council's plan to eventually decommission the city pool in favour of an outdoor dining and events space.
The masterplan maps out the future for the vast amount of parkland between Brisbane and Roderick streets.
While the pool does not feature in the council's long-term future for the parkland, sport and recreation staff have said it will be maintained for years to come.
Jacob McArthur
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
