Central Coast Council: Decisions made at fortnightly meeting
CENTRAL Coast residents’ being excluded from confidential items was one of the hot topics at last night’s council meeting. Here’s the other things that might affect you.
Central Coast
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CENTRAL Coast Councillors were tucked into bed earlier than normal last night, with the earliest meeting of 2018.
The short agenda saw the meeting close around 9pm, however there were a few decisions and debates that will interest Coast residents.
SHHHH ... IT’S CONFIDENTIAL
TWO councillor called on the council to look at the amount of confidential items on the agenda, and focus more on transparency.
Councillors Greg Best said there was an increasing trend in confidential items and councillors should be “opening the door” to residents.
“Confidentiality was mantra at the election. If you saw fault in previous councils, you have a choice to change things,” he said.
“The community is fed up with being excluded and not given an explanation as to why they are being excluded,” Councillor Louise Greenaway said.
Councillor Doug Vincent disagreed and said council had been more liberal with sharing documents, compared with previous councils.
Councillors voted to look at reporting as transparently as possible, while also abiding with regulations of the Local Government Act. It will also look into providing further explanation as to why certain documents remain confidential.
NEW BRIDGE ON THE WAY
The relocation and replacement of Sohier Park Bridge at Ourimbah is a step closer.
Central Coast Council has voted to declare part of the council-owned land at 4 Brownlee St as a public road to accommodate the new bridge over Bangalow Creek.
While Mayor Jane Smith had reservations about slicing into an environmental corridor, fellow councillors were for the move to take a small section of land to replace to run down bridge.
“I know people in Ourimbah are keen to have this bridge fixed and upgraded,” Councillor Kyle MacGregor said. “The most important thing is to get the job done.”
The decision will enable the existing bridge to be used during construction, which is expected to be completed by late 2018 early 2019.
FOCUS ON INCLUSION
The development of all-inclusive disability precincts is being addressed by Central Coast Council.
Last night, Councillor Rebecca Gale Collins called for the council to liaise with community stakeholders and develop all-inclusive disability precincts to boost tourism, economic stimulus and residential lifestyle choice.
Cr Gale Collins said jobs were imperative on the Central Coast, and getting infrastructure right for the inclusive tourism market was the way to go. This includes accessible accommodation, amenities and transportation from the main train stations.
She said disability precincts will “stimulate our local economy through tourism”.
The council is working on accessible infrastructure in its Disability Inclusion Action Plan and Destination Management Plan.
COMMUNITY GRANTS AWARDED
Coast community groups will be celebrating today, with council awarding more than $40,000 in community grants last night.
The 16 groups received the grants under the Community Support Grant Program, which supports activities requiring a small amount of funding and/or in-kind support.
“Our Community Grants and Sponsorship Funding give our community more opportunities to support their events, programs and initiatives,” Mayor Jane Smith said.
Some of the groups include Bateau Bay PCYC, Bonsai Society of the Central Coast, Central Coast Paddlers, Gosford Showground Trust, Rotary Club of Erina, Terrigal Surf Life Saving Club and Tuggerah Lakes Society.
The Community Support Grant is open all year round for applications of up to $5,000. To find out more on visit centralcoast.nsw.gov.au/makeithappen
NAMING OF PUBLIC FACILITIES
Council has adopted a new policy for donating and naming public facilities across the Coast.
The policy merges the previous Gosford and Wyong council policies, and applies to applications around donation of park furniture and trees in public reserves, the naming or renaming of council owned facilities and the placement of memorials.
Mayor Jane Smith said there is always considerable community interest in how public facilities are named and are a key way the contribution of community members can be honoured.
The policy states that a commemorative memorial “will be considered only if the person who is nominated has been deceased for at least six months, was of good repute and not likely to be the subject of controversy”.
“Council will not approve requests to commemorate a living person, except in special
circumstances, such as providing recognition to a local citizen who has made outstanding contributions to the community over a period of greater than 10 years.”
Coast residents will also be able to donate to the Gosford Foundation Trust for the former Gosford Local Government Area in order to receive a tax deduction.