The issue of the broken pavers was raised at Tuesday night's special council meeting by Councillor Zsuzsanna Handelsmann during a conversation of how to allocate possible funding from Federal and State government.

The broken pavers were listed as a possible item to dedicate the funding towards.

The Oberon Review understands that the pavers have become damaged due to frosts.

Councillor Handelsmann said that she felt something must be done about the pavers as soon as possible.

“To me, the pavers are not a want, but a must,” she said.

“First and foremost, it is an issue of public security.”

Councillor Handelsmann said that the public are in danger when walking on the pavers, particularly after a large frost or icy weather.

Furthermore, she said some businesses are disadvantaged because customers cannot enter their shops due to the ice outside.

“Sometimes there are still patches of black ice still frozen at 12 noon,” she said.

Questions were asked by councillors as to whether the government funding should be used on the pavers, or whether they should be paid for by other council funds.

Councillor Don Fitzpatrick was against using the government funding to pay for replacing the pavers.

“I don't think we should say ‘the pavers need replacing, so we use this grant’,” he said.

Cr Fitzpatrick argued that the pavers and government grants were separate issues, and should be dealt with separately.

“Pavers are repairs and maintenance in my language,” he said.

The Oberon Review understands that one option is to use concrete to replace the pavers. Councillors decided not to use government grants on replacing the pavers, and instead asked council staff to provide a report on the state of the pavers in Oberon street and where possible funds could be allocated from.