CONTRACTS for the redevelopment of the Civic Hall will not be signed until well into next year.A timeline for the process has been extended, with panels assessing the plans now required to report back to the Ballarat City Council in February.A council motion, passed in secret in August and revealed at a council meeting this week, had originally required the panels to provide a recommendation by December 31.The two panels are required to vet the finance and design aspects of the plan and recommend whether or not contracts should be signed by the council.Councillors were given an update on the redevelopment at this week's meeting, in a report described by acting chief executive officer Anthony Schinck as "quite positive".Mr Schinck said the panels had been making progress but had requested the Christmas period to complete their task.The timeline of the project has been wavering with the council initially saying contracts would be awarded in December.The timeframe then changed to recommendations being made in December and contracts awarded at a later date.Now both the contract and the recommendations will come up to six months after the preferred tenderer, Civic Place Group, was named.At this week's meeting, councillors were originally asked only to note the report.But councillor Wayne Rigg told his colleagues a firm date needed to be set."Before we know it we'll be a year down the track; we need some certainty," Cr Rigg said."The process was supposed to be stitched up by the end of this year and already there are delays."After a short debate, councillors agreed recommendations from the panels had to be received by the second council meeting in February.Cr Rigg also asked Mr Schinck for details about the financial backing of the project but his request was denied.Mr Schinck initially said the financial details could only be released at the discretion of the developer before telling the chamber the information would be revealed at the February meeting.