STAYING PUT: Council Votes To Keep M1 Gold Coast Light Sign

UPDATE: The controversial Gold Coast light installation on the M1 at Yatala is staying put, at least for now.

During Gold Coast City Council's first official meeting of the year, Mayor Tom Tate successfully argued there was no point moving the art work into storage temporarily, costing the ratepayers around $250,000.

Instead councillors agreed to leave it untouched, and potentially look a new, more visible location somewhere like Metricon Stadium.

EARLIER: Should it stay or should it go?

That is the question Gold Coast City Council will be debating today in its first full meeting for 2019.

There are calls for the controversial $2.1 million Gold Coast light installation on the M1 at Yatala to be removed, costing the city around $250,000.

Fresh from a skiing holiday to the USA, mayor Tom Tate made the surprising declaration he wanted it to stay where it is, declaring it would be a waste of money to put it in storage.

"I don't want spend another quarter of a million dollars of ratepayers' funds to take it down and the store it," said Cr Tate.

"I'd rather leave it there and in the future, if there's a better location for it, spend the money and relocate it."

It was understood councillors were divided on the issue.