Last month, council awarded the contract for the Lake Wendouree link lighting project to Bendigo-based De Araugo and Lea Electrical Contractors with a vote of six to three.

Cr McIntosh's motion, if endorsed, would see council rescind that resolution to appoint the contractor for the project. It would also see the chief executive officer bring alternative options for the lake lighting to councillors at a future council briefing.

The project will see 225 five-metre-tall light poles installed around the six-kilometre Steve Moneghetti Track, and another seven along Morrison Street.

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City of Ballarat CEO Evan King said if the motion were to be endorsed by council, work would then take place to present councillors with alternative options.

"We would then need to go back and have a look at other options and then some of that work would need to be redone if that was council's desire to pursue a different option. There would certainly be a need to invest further funds to bring another option up to the same stage," he said.

The state government-funded project received bipartisan support during the 2018 state election campaign with both Labor and the Liberal-National coalition committing to fund the project.

Mr King also said that funding could be at risk if council did not meet agreed project milestones.

"The funding was provided to council through an election commitment and whoever makes the election commitment, if they get into power, then we enter into a funding agreement to receive those funds and deliver that project," he said.

"The funding agreements have a whole range of milestones in them, so the further we delay the project, we run the risk of missing milestones in the funding agreement and that creates risk of the funds being withdrawn from the government if we can't meet those milestones.

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"That certainly is a risk with any of our projects if we can't meet the agreed milestones of the funding agreement."

Mr King said if the motion were to be defeated at Wednesday night's council meeting, it would be unlikely to come back to council again.

"You can't bring another recision motion on the same grounds, so if this recision motion doesn't get up based on those grounds, then the current resolution of council stands and that is to award the tender and move on with the project," he said.

"It's really in council's hands now. They need to make a determination, they need to provide the instruction to me. If they want me to get on and deliver this project, I will get on and deliver the project, and if they don't want me to deliver the project, they will provide a different direction and I will follow that and that's my role as CEO."

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