Central Coast Council confirmed it will complete staff payroll for the week ending 18 October.This follows confirmation by the State Government Minister for Local Government, Shelley Hancock today at 1pm that the NSW Government will advance Council $6.2million to meet payroll expenses and overdue payments to suppliers.  An Extraordinary Council Meeting is underway this afternoon.

Council resolved tonight to undertake further urgent actions in response to Council’s serious financial situation.Mayor Lisa Matthews said Council had a serious liquidity issue and the current funds in the bank were quarantined as restricted funds under the Local Government Act.“Council will make urgent representations again to Minister for Local Government, Shelley Hancock seeking permission for the partial utilisation of restricted funds to make staff payroll for the week ending 18 October 2020,” said Mayor Matthews.“Should the Minister’s approval not be forthcoming, then some 2,157 full time equivalent Council employees may not be paid this week.”“We urgently require a response to Council’s query made on Tuesday 13 October about borrowing from restricted funds.”To date, Council has received no formal response to this request from the Minister.Council has also asked the Acting CEO to urgently seek a commercial loan or overdraft and persist with seeking State Government support with emergency funding for Central Coast Council.Another Extraordinary Council Meeting will be held at 1.30pm tomorrow, Wednesday 21 October.For up to date information about Council’s financial situation, go to the Newspage on Council’s website at centralcoast.nsw.gov.au

Players and sporting groups of Tacoma’s Don Small Oval will be cheering following the completion of the new sportsground amenities building that will service the needs of this growing sporting community.Council’s Director of Environment and Planning, Scott Cox said the new sportsground amenities replace the original Wyong Lakes Australian Football Club building which was destroyed by fire in 2013 and the existing dilapidated amenities building.“Don Small Oval is home to the Wyong Lakes Australian Rules Football Club and Central Coast Cricket whose efforts to help source funding paid off with a collection of grants secured to deliver this project,” Mr Cox said.“This project is proudly funded by the NSW Government, Central Coast Council, AFL NSW/ACT and Wyong Lakes FC through grant funding received from the Australian Government and NSW Government."The new sportsground amenities building will meet the growing needs of local sporting groups, whilst ensuring compliance with current building requirements and Australian standards.

With many young people struggling to find work in the current economic climate, Council is running a free Employ Me workshop to arm young Coasties with important tools and skills for gaining employment.The workshop, which will take place at The Hub Erina on 7 October 2020, is designed to help young people put their best foot forward during the job application process and relieve some of the stress associated with job hunting.

Central Coast Council will present a ‘drive in’ concert to bring the magic of a live music event back to the Coast in a way that meets current COVID-19 restrictions.‘Live at the Drive In’ is a first for the Central Coast and will feature the modern blues genius of headliner Ash Grunwald and local support Elaskia performing to audience members sitting comfortably and safely in their own cars.Council Unit Manager Community Partnerships, Glenn Cannard said he was excited about the Central Coast hosting a ‘drive in’ event.“Who doesn’t love a ‘drive in’ movie?

Council adopts a positive jobs plan for a Central CoastThe first ever Economic Development Strategy for the Central Coast has been adopted, positioning the region as the place to do business, creating jobs and prosperity for the region.The local economy will be strengthened through targeted investment, improved partnerships between the community, business and education sectors and all levels of government.Mayor Lisa Matthews said COVID had great challenges for local and global economies but Council is determined to lead to way with a positive plan to deliver jobs for the growing community.“We know our community are doing it tough, we know our businesses are doing it tough but we are already seeing the signs we are coming out of this with lots of interest from people wanting to live, visit and do business here,” Mayor Matthews said.“Creating local jobs and opportunities has always been a priority for this Council and our community - we now have a Plan to deliver it.“We are going to directly invest in our people, infrastructure and digital capability and transform the economy of the Central Coast.” 678 submissions were received during the exhibition of the Economic Development Strategy 2020-2040 and Economic Recovery and Resilience Framework with 86% agreeing it was important for Council to develop and implement a detailed plan to grow the local economy.“72,000 additional jobs and economic growth of $21 billion is needed by 2040 to support the population growth predicted for the region and we are pleased to have a Plan in place now that will help make that happen,” Mayor Matthews said.Development of a new Education and Business Precinct for Warnervale a step closerCouncil has endorsed a concept plan, for public exhibition, to turn Council-owned land, in Warnervale, into an Education and Business Precinct.The land situated on the eastern side of 30 Jack Grant Avenue, is bounded by Porters Creek wetlands and the future Warnervale Link Road (connecting Wyong to Watanobbi).

Central Coast Council has commenced the dredging program for The Entrance Channel.The program is set to continue through coming months, in accordance with the EPA licence and other environmental constrains and will be conducted in two stages.Mayor Lisa Matthews said it is important to see the program get underway.“Dredging The Entrance channel is important for our community, and I am glad to see the 2020-21 program begin,” Mayor Matthews said.“The sand from the dredging program will ultimately be used to nourish the highly eroded North Entrance Beach but will first be used in the preparation of staging, or work, areas near Karagi Reserve.”Council Director Environment and Planning, Scott Cox, said the dredging program would look a little different to previous years, but that it was necessary to ensure Council met its environmental obligations.“Council has been working with coastal experts Royal HaskoningDHV to develop a program that meets the NSW EPA’s licencing requirements,” Mr Cox said.“This means that Council will now be pumping the dredged sand to the areas inside the channel near Karagi reserve where it will be ‘dewatered’ before being manually moved to areas we plan to nourish, including North Entrance Beach.“This process will be slower than previous years as the sand will have to be handled twice, and will mean that the community need to take extra care while the heavy machinery moves around on the beaches.“However, the program will remove an estimated 30,000 cubic metres of sand from the channel.“Our dredging plan also takes into consideration the imminent arrival of the Little terns and I want to assure the community we are taking measures to mitigate any impact on them while dredging is taking place.“As part of preparation of our dredging plans, Council has engaged ornithologists (bird specialists) to help develop an appropriate plan. “We will continue to monitor for the arrival of the Little Terns and when they arrive, we will seek further advice on the continuation of the program.”Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast and Member for Terrigal Adam Crouch said the NSW Government was contributing $600,000 to the project. “In February 2020, the NSW Government provided $600,000 to dredge The Entrance Channel and I am pleased that work is finally getting underway,” Mr Crouch said.“Council has matched this funding on a dollar-for-dollar basis, allowing for a $1.2 million dredging project.”The dredging program is funded by both Central Coast Council and the NSW Government through the Rescuing Our Waterways fund.

Central Coast Council is reminding the community to keep safety top-of-mind if heading to Terrigal these school holidays, as works continue on the construction of Terrigal Boardwalk and upgrade to the existing rockpool.Council advises anyone visiting the area to follow all signage and directions and adhere to the latest COVID-19 restrictions.

The weekend saw the last NRL game hosted at Central Coast Stadium of our adopted home team the New Zealand Warriors.

Taking the ‘trash’ out of waste managementThe adoption of an innovative waste management strategy has underlined Central Coast Council’s commitment to being a leader in its approach to reducing waste and recovering resources which would otherwise end up in landfill.Council last night adopted its inaugural Waste Resource Management Strategy, including provision to maintain the general waste red bin weekly service for residents and investigate the introduction of a Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) service for the Central Coast.