Two councillors, mayor Margaret Roles and Cr Greg Armstrong voted against providing the funding.

Cr Roles said she was not against the rail trail but questioned if providing the funding was "timely".

"As a concept I think it is really good (but), I wonder if it is timely for us to allocate this money, certainly when our cash flow is not great.. I'm certainly not against it," Cr Roles said.

Cr Armstrong asked his fellow councillors to "take a bit of a breath" before voting.

"Look at our budget we have over a million dollars in foot-pathing work to do between the towns of Young, Harden and Boorowa," Cr Armstrong said.

"We've been advised we don't have a pedestrian access and mobility access plan or cycle plan for any of those towns."

The councillors voted to endorse a $25,000 contribution toward the feasibility study to be funded from the allocated $60,000 in the 2021-22 budget for "Cycling infrastructure projects".

Cr Armstrong said he saw the $60,000 in the budget going towards a Pedestrian Access and Mobility Plan (PAMP).

"I see that as the more pressing concern than this current one," Cr Armstrong said.

Council voted to allocate the remaining $35,000 in the budget to the PAMP.

Speaking in support of allocating funding to the rail trail study Cr Tony Hewson said he believed the rail trail would bring a lot more money into the Hilltops region than its minor cost for maintenance.

Also speaking in favour, Cr Tony Flanery said when the proposal was first raised at Galong Progress Association meeting his initial thought was it wasn't something he would welcome.

Since that meeting he has changed his view.

"I'm not an affected landholder but I have a family member who would be," Cr Flanery said.

"I spoke to the family member who said 'I moved up here 55 years ago from the city and when I moved here Galong had two schools, two general stores, a butcher, a bank, a farm supplies store. Now it has nothing. If the least I can do is provide access through my property without opposition to enable a rail trail to help Galong get something back and benefit some of those residents it is not much to ask'.

"Me as the person who looks after that land needs to realise there is a greater vision here.

"I say to the council and the committee there will be a cost to someone to maintain the rail trail. But there is a cost to maintain our libraries, our pools, our footpaths, everything we provide to the communities there is a cost to maintain," cr Flanery said.

Boorowa Galong Rail Trail Inc. requires a feasibility study for the conversion of the disused railway corridor between Boorowa and Galong.

The consultants asked to provide an "indicative quote" for the project said the rail trail feasibility study will provide sufficient detail to determine whether the rail trail has merit.

"Feasibility is determined by an analysis of several factors," they said.

"In previous rail trail projects and trail feasibility studies we have concluded that it is not just the cost of the project, but a combination of several factors.

"In considering trail feasibility, the costs of construction need to be weighed against the benefits (direct and indirect) that such a trail brings.

"A Feasibility Study prepared by Mike Halliburton Associates will answer several questions, which have been posed by rail trail advocates, opponents and potential managers alike," they said.

These include: