WHEN they sat down at a meeting of the finance committee in Ammanford Town Hall last night (Tuesday), town councillors were acutely aware that they were facing perhaps the most important decision in the authority’s history.

The question they had to decide was whether – in the wake of Carmarthenshire County Council’s worst-ever financial settlement – to take over responsibility for the town’s sporting and recrea tional facilities.

And, if so, by how much could they afford to raise the town council precept, following last year’s 45 per cent hike?

As deputy mayor Jonathan Jennings highlighted at Monday night’s public meeting, the council is well and truly wedged between a rock and a hard place.

A further rise in the precept will be widely condemned – the alternative is losing the town’s proud sporting heritage.

As the meeting indicated, the latter scenario is almost too frightening to contemplate: the loss of cherished sports clubs would impact in all sorts of ways, not just on us now but – more seriously – on future generations.

Imagine the contempt in which our own generation will be held in years to come if we do indeed allow Ammanford’s sporting jewels to slip through our fingers – heaven knows, this town has lost enough as it is.