The region's movers and shakers gathered at The Cube in Wodonga to witness councillors from both sides of the river sign-off on the historic, Two Cities, One Community concept.

The arrangement's essence was where possible the two councils would join forces on service delivery and save ratepayers some money.

An early initiative of having the same operators in charge of all pools in the twin cities was achieved, but some turbulence was hit when the matter of lane hire fees for swimming and water polo clubs emerged.

But momentum was fully restored when Two Cities, One Community became the driving force behind the birth of the Albury-Wodonga Regional Deal in 2019.

Mayors Kevin Mack and Anna Speedie championed both initiatives with commendable effort, energy and enthusiasm.

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A major milestone in both Two Cities, One Community and the Regional Deal was going to be the creation of a high class riverside tourist park on the Lincoln Causeway.

But something has gone majorly awry in its conception with Albury councillors, most notably Murray King, unimpressed that their Wodonga counterparts have gone cold and pulled out for reasons which, to date, remain unclear.

Questions are also being raised in the community, particularly from the medical fraternity, about the painfully slow progress on the Regional Deal.

Other similar deals across the country are roaring ahead.

Federal funding is locked in for future years, but in racing parlance, Albury-Wodonga has blundered the start and has many lengths to make up.

Ms Speedie's departure from local government has been an undoubted setback and Albury is about to enter its own elections and time will tell who will be city's mayor come September.

A strong statement of intent from both sides of the river on the joint path forward will then be a must to silence the doubters.

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