As the council passes the halfway point of its term, we've summarised councillors' wish lists and asked them to put in their words how they're progressing.

Please note: Cr Sam Romano and Cr Mario Previtera did not submit responses to the 2017 survey, while Cr Scott Munro did not nominate specific projects.

THEN: The Long Point road link to Mudgee, showground rehabilitation at the cattle, sheep, poultry and bird pavilions plus re-establishing the ring, a human-powered vehicle (HPV) track at Gosling Creek, aqua park and rowing centre, support for planetarium, conservatorium, caravan park, truck stop and city improvements, acknowledgement statues of past residents James Dalton, Gwen Meredith and Kenneth Slessor.

NOW: "The Long Point road has been kept on agenda with the recent announcement of the federal government's $16 million. Grant applications are in for toilets for the Naylor Pavilion. Maintenance is in current budgetary discussions. The HPV track has been funded. The planetarium and conservatorium have been budgeted and waiting on state and federal funding. City improvement is currently in the budget for consideration, as are the acknowledgements."

WE SAY: Progress at Long Point remains the most tangible outcome in this list - many other projects are still awaiting budget or government funding and lobbying efforts for the conservatorium with the federal government were not followed up with an application.

THEN: A partnership with a private supplier or government agency to teach every child to swim, regular community meetings, a regional culinary and hospitality school to help the food and wine sector, upgrades to sporting and recreational facilities, improvements to Lake Canobolas, support for the mountain bike track.

NOW: "Thanks to Orange Aquatic Centre, more children than ever have access, but I will continue to push the education minister. An amenity facility at Jack Brabham Park and a cricket centre of excellence at Wade Park will start this year. The weed cutting program and beach sand we dumped at Lake Canobolas hopefully are enhancing its popularity. I will continue to push for the mountain biking. A culinary school is operating at Ross Hill Wines."

WE SAY: Progression of the multipurpose sporting precinct, the Mount Canobolas trail centre and swimming opportunities have been pushed for, but still depend on the state government. The lake is looking better with the sand, completed at Cr Hamling's request.

THEN: Create a unique precinct at Mount Canobolas and Lake Canobolas for mountain biking, camping, running and dragon boating events and bush walking, get Orange's basic footpaths and roads to an acceptable standard, create a strategic plan for future urban and industrial growth.

NOW: "We now have the scout camp and are already in the process of upgrading infrastructure to attract visitors, from bunkhouse facilities to recommissioning the flying fox. Lake Canobolas has the canteen refurbished and work has been completed on the historic pump house. Discussions were held with National Parks and Wildlife staff after the fires to get the trails open. Council is working with Blayney council to open pipelines, which will deliver potable water to Lucknow and Spring Hill. Cargo Road and the roundabout on Woodward Street are nearing completion."

WE SAY: Councillor Russell Turner made two requests to have the mountain trails repaired in time for the Great Volcanic Mountain Challenge, which were completed. The council is continuing with its footpath program at a steady pace.

THEN: Make Orange Australia's healthiest city by looking at safety, security and sanitation through to education, employment and community engagement to create a more engaged and active population.

NOW: "Through the ageing and access committee, I have supported a focus on footpaths and accessibility issues, which has followed through to the Future City CBD planning process. I've also helped launch safety campaigns as a member of the crime prevention and road safety committees - Cuppa for the Driver and the Dob in A Dealer campaigns are two recent examples. The health liaison committee is working on a health promotion project for late 2019, focusing on health checks, social engagement and physical activity."

WE SAY: One of the more unusual commitments - with metropolitan-regional and Aboriginal-non-Aboriginal health divides, there will be much work needed here.

THEN: A 24-hour mental health crisis facility to support people with urgent needs who can't wait two or three weeks for an appointment.

NOW: "I advocated strongly for the domestic violence centre, this is my next priority - people don't want to speak to someone over the phone, they need face-to-face interaction. My view is this is a community issue, first and foremost."

WE SAY: This is usually not considered a council responsibility, but the council did support the domestic violence crisis centre.

THEN: Ensuring Shiralee fulfils the sustainable suburb vision, revitalising the stormwater harvesting scheme, implementation of the Cities Power Partnership, redevelopment of Kurim Shopping Centre and the Moulder Park netball precinct, creating more bike paths, lights at velodrome and finishing BMX track in East Orange, and ensuring everyone can use council services.

NOW: "Shiralee is largely being developed in line with the original vision, while stormwater harvesting is delivering raw water to Suma Park. The CPP has been formally adopted and aim to save energy and bring more renewable energy. Our focus in Glenroi has shifted to a master plan for Glenroi Oval, while Moulder Park is on hold awaiting grant funding. Cycling infrastructure is included in the sports and recreation committee priorities, while I'll be working to ensure accessibility is a component of Activate Orange."

WE SAY: It's also worth noting Kurim Shopping Centre was demolished after a years-long effort.

THEN: Complete the southern feeder road, skate parks for north and west Orange, more hot-mixing of streets, a roundabout for the Northern Distributor Road, William Maker Drive and Hill Street, restore pensioner rebates and work with developers to free up land for younger home buyers.

NOW: "We got all the funding for the southern distributor, but we've got to get that section between Anson Street and Racecourse Road built - James Sheahan is pandemonium."

WE SAY: Council is short a round of funding to build to Ploughmans Lane, and work is under way. The roundabout project has yet to win funding, while rebates have not featured in debate.

THEN: The conservatorium-planetarium project, the southern feeder road and the development of proposed cycle paths on Mount Canobolas.

NOW: "Now that I have the Great Volcanic Mountain Challenge out of the way I can get down to other important things. My number one priority is achieving funding for the proposed new conservatorium and planetarium, number two is the CBD upgrade and number three is the construction of the Mount Canobolas cycle path project."

WE SAY: The CBD upgrade is awaiting federal funding after recently missing out, and consultants are still planning.

THEN: Getting roads under control with a hot mix plant, implement a system allowing residents to log issues immediately and be updated when the issue is resolved, establishing a business and technology program and Smart Community hub to reduce the cost of energy and continue it in the tourism sector with a board bringing together all assets, identifying programs for youth, aged and those with disabilities.

NOW: "At the first council meeting of this term I moved a motion to have Orange implement our own hot mix plant. This was supported by all councillors. In discussion with the general manager we have been investigating alternatives to achieve the same result by looking at companies building and employing local with no capital outlay. Monies have been allocated in this budget to investigate a live reporting system."

WE SAY: The council also formed the Orange 360 board and there are signs a co-op will be formed to run a solar farm.