The Wodonga Ratepayers’ Association would like a visitors’ centre and caravan parking bays at Richardson Park opposite Junction Place.

The group’s president Ian Deegan has flagged the option in the wake of Wodonga Council announcing last month it was closing its existing visitor centre in Hovell Street and opting for electronic terminals for tourists.

“Richardson Park would be a good place for a caravan stopover and people would spend money inside Wodonga, being near the plaza,” Mr Deegan said.

“We don’t need terminals, first of all people have got to find them, but secondly people like going into a place and talking to someone.”

Mr Deegan believes it may be easier for a tourist centre to be set up at Richardson Park rather than Junction Place because of the latter’s control by Melbourne bureaucrats.

However he admits he does not “know whether the council is in the mood to use” Richardson Park.

The area, named for former Wodonga Shire president Bob Richardson, has been unused for many years having been home to a police station and courthouse until 2002.

Wodonga Council would like to develop the land which it owns with accommodation having been proposed for the site previously.

The tourist centre’s future will be discussed at the ratepayers’ association’s meeting on Tuesday night.

Mr Deegan said the council budget would also be in the spotlight with the city’s business services director Trevor Ierino invited to answer questions.

He said councillors had not been invited to comment on the budget, which is subject to public comment until 5pm Wednesday, because they are “not allowed to say anything”.

Meanwhile, the association has backed away from a commitment to live stream its meeting after the issue split members.

“It was 60 to 40 whether we should or shouldn’t do it, so we’ve come to compromise by having a video recording and it being put up on the website (after the meeting),” Mr Deegan said.

“They were concerned they could get upset and say the wrong thing, but people have to be careful with what they say anywhere.

“I think we should have bit the bullet and gone straight into it.”

Streaming will be revisited when the association holds its annual meeting in August.

In March, Wodonga Council opted to not stream its monthly meetings because of legal concerns after it was promoted during last year’s election.