Council to review future of Central Coast Airport

Council will receive a briefing on a detailed Masterplan for the development of the Central Coast Airport, and will formally consider whether the Masterplan is publicly exhibited at its Ordinary Meeting on 27 November 2017.

Only routine maintenance works will be undertaken at the Airport in the interim. Council further requested the Department of Planning be invited to provide a briefing to Councillors on options for the Airport.

Councillors will also be provided with a briefing on the proposed strategic development of the Wyong Economic Zone prior to the November 27 meeting. The Council also requested the Chief Executive Officer make available to the public, including on Council's website, all information concerning the WEZ that can be made available. If documents are unable to be provided then the reasons for doing so be reported to the Council.

Council further requested the proactive release of documents be completed prior to the final meeting of the Council on 18 December 2017.

Council Mayor Jane Smith said there was genuine community interest in ensuring the future development of the site meets the needs of the Central Coast now and in the future.

“The community are seeing works going on at the airport without understanding what the full plans are,” Mayor Smith said.

“In the interests of openness and transparency I believe we need to understand where the plans are up to so we can make realistic and lasting decisions about the future of the site.

“Everyone wants to see the WEZ deliver real and lasting benefit to the community but they must be realistic and achievable.”

Appointment process confirmed for Mangrove Mountain and Spencer Advisory Committee

Councillor positions have been confirmed and Expressions of Interest called for community stakeholder members of the recently established Mangrove Mountain and Spencer Advisory Committee.

Councillors Holstein, Marquart and Mehrtens will sit alongside Mayor Jane Smith as Council’s official representatives on the Committee. Other Councillors who wish to sit on the Committee have been invited to also nominate.

Community stakeholder positions will be filled by way of a public EOI process, facilitated by the Chief Executive Officer and reported back to the next Council meeting.

Council Mayor Smith said it was important the Committee was established properly with community input so there was confidence in the work and decision making of the committee.

“We need to push back the date of the first meeting to ensure we have the proper Council and community representatives in place,” Mayor Smith said.

“I want to give interested Councillors and community stakeholders a chance to play a proactive role in bringing issues relating to waste management on the Coast to light.

“The community want action and accountability in this key area of Council responsibility and I believe this Committee can deliver that.”

Additional Councillor and community stakeholder positions will be confirmed at the next Council meeting in November.

Council’s next three meetings confirmed but resolution sought on ongoing meeting schedule

Council unanimously deferred the public exhibition of an amended Code of Meeting Practice, which included revised meeting dates and time, to consider different options on how to make important decisions in the best interests of its community.

The proposed amended Code included 11 Council meetings a year to be held on a Monday (fourth of the month except December when it is third) and four new Committees be established.

In order for decision-making to continue the next three Council meetings are confirmed as Monday 27 November in Wyong Chambers; Monday 18 December in Gosford Chambers and Monday 26 February at Wyong Chambers.  All meetings will start at 6.30pm and be live streamed.

A report will come back to the next Council meeting and a revised Code of Meeting Practice will be publicly exhibited for community comment.

Change in Open Pile Burning Policy to go out on exhibition

Council is looking to consolidate its policy for open pile burning across the Central Coast to enable landowners to be able to better manage dead vegetation on their properties.

Council and the Rural Fire Service (RFS) receive numerous requests from rural landowners to burn dead vegetation in order to carry out routine maintenance of their land. Open pile burning has been accepted practice in the former Wyong Local Government Area (LGA)  and other regional Councils in NSW as part of managing land.

Under the draft policy, Landowners will be self-regulated and be allowed to burn one pile of vegetation on their land at any one time without a permit. The vegetation must be dry or dead and generated from the land where the pile is burnt.

Permits will still be required from RFS during the bushfire season which is set between 1 October to 31 March.

The draft Open Pile Burning Policy will be placed on public exhibition for a period of 28 days and will be shortly available at www.yourvoiceourcoast.com.

If the Policy is adopted it would be subject to a review within two years.

Councillor Expenses to be reviewed by the community

Changes to proposed facilities and expenses for the newly elected fifteen Councillors to be able to perform their roles will be put out on public exhibition.

The main changes are to general travel expenses around the Central Coast; interstate, overseas and long distance travel; accommodation and meal expenses; professional development opportunities; and Carers’ expenses.

Mayor Jane Smith said all Councillors were keen to ensure the expenses they can claim are in line with community expectation and are completely open and transparent.

“There is a lot of interest in Councillor conduct and expenses at the moment and we want to ensure we are as open and honest with our community about the expectations and remuneration for our important civic role,” Mayor Jane Smith said.

“This is our community’s opportunity to have a say on what they think are reasonable expenses and I encourage them to have their say.”

Given the status of Central Coast Council, there is an expectation that the Mayor and Councillors will represent Council at city, state and national forums regarding business, government, community and cultural matters. This is in addition to their responsibilities to residents, ratepayers and businesses, workers and visitors to the Central Coast region.

The revised Councillor Facilities and Expenses Policy will be publicly exhibited for 28 days and be available shortly on Council’s Engagement Hub – yourvoiceourcoast.com

Council supports expansion of Marine Discovery Centre at Terrigal

Council moved to provide an allocation of $250k in the 2018/19 and $250k in the 2019/20 budgets to assist in the funding of a walking track and boardwalk around Terrigal Lagoon, in support of the redevelopment of the Marine Discovery Centre at Terrigal.

The upgrade to the Centre also proposes to create a ‘Wonders of the Wreck’ program to link with the Ex-HMAS Adelaide Artificial Reef.

The Centre put in an EOI to the NSW Go the NSW Government’s Regional Growth – Economic and Tourism Fund to upgrade the Marine Discovery Centre. The Fund requests projects be at least $1 million and that $500,000 already be secured – hence the move by Council to support the proposal with funding for the boardwalk.

The walking track will connect with walkways to be constructed as part of Council’s planned upgrades to Rotary Park providing enhanced recreational and learning opportunities for the community.

Mayor Jane Smith who is on the Board of the Marine Discovery Centre declared this interest, left the chamber and took no part in the vote.

Council investments on solid ground

Council’s cash and investment portfolio at 30 September 2017 was $418.8 million according to the investment report presented at tonight’s meeting.

Cash flows are being managed primarily through term deposit and floating rate note maturities and a net return to Council of $1 million in September 2017.

Council’s investments are evaluated and monitored against a benchmark appropriate to the risk (credit and counterparty credit exposure risk) and time horizon of the investment concerned.

As per the September 2017 investment report, Council’s current investment in BBB credit ratings is above its own guidelines at 41.20% instead of 40%.  There has however been a reduction from the August report where BBB investments were 43.84%.  Council maintains its investment portfolio will be back in current guidelines by the time of the October 2017 report.

Council Finance staff are currently drafting some changes to the policy and guidelines based on recommendations from the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee which will be presented to the November meeting.

Langford Drive redesign retains trees

The design for the much-anticipated upgrade to Langford Drive has been redesigned to save three mature trees.

Local residents had raised concerns about the removal of the trees and staged a peaceful protest outside the Chambers before the meeting got underway.

Mayor Jane Smith who met with the local residents said the decision was a good compromise and ensures the best possible outcome for the community.

“The community have wanted this upgrade for a long time but also want to protect the amenity of their local area and saving these trees has achieved that,” Mayor Jane Smith said.

“I commend Council staff for being responsive to community concerns and the effort they put into looking at options that will protect the trees.

“The upgrade can still go ahead in the timeframe and cost and that is a real win for the community.

“Improving the quality of life of our residents and creating liveable, safe and connected communities is what we all want and this redesign delivers all of that.”

Major work on the upgrade gets underway early next year   Works will include construction of a single-lane, roundabout, with realignment of nearby Dandaloo Street to create a more cohesive access point for all incoming traffic.

There will be a minor alignment to the footpath to retain the trees. Footpaths will also be upgraded to direct pedestrian traffic to refuge crossing points – which are part of the roundabout design improving public safety and access across busy Woy Woy Road.