Central Coast Mayor Lisa Matthews said commemorating Anzac Day in 2020 will be quite different but how we remember our fallen and pay our respects holds the same value. “We as a community are functioning quite differently at present, whilst how we remember and pay respect to our fallen soldiers has been impacted, our want to acknowledge and commemorate our heroes remains the same,” Mayor Matthews said.“The Australian way is to band together and support one another through a crisis, the significance of Anzac Day and the sacrifices made allows for a time of reflection and puts things into perspective. Formal services across the nation were cancelled on 15 March as a result of gathering restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.  “There are many ways Australians, our local community, can commemorate Anzac Day.

Commemorating Anzac Day in 2020, we find ourselves functioning quite differently.

In a first for the region, two schools have joined Central Coast Council’s pilot program with Plastic Police® to create a localised circular waste stream to build roads out of soft plastics.Budgewoi Public School and St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School have joined the program that will see waste from common lunchbox items such as chip packets, muesli bar wrappers, sandwich bags recycled into a road resurfacing product called Reconophalt.Council Director Roads Transport Drainage and Waste, Boris Bolgoff said roads outside both schools had been renewed using Reconophalt during the summer school holidays to ensure there was no disruption to school communities.“As a result of high traffic flow, school drop off points require increased amount of road maintenance,” Mr Bolgoff said.“There are added benefits to using Reconophalt in our road projects beyond the reduction in waste as they become more durable with the plastic added.“The formulated mixture of recycled products in Reconophalt increases the lifespan of the road, as it is less likely to buckle and crack.  “One of the most common questions we have received from the community since we have started the trial is how they can get involved, which we will announce in the coming months.”The Reconophalt used to pave each of these streets when combined with bitumen contained 15 percent recycled materials, which included: Soft plastic bag and packaging equivalentsGlass bottle equivalentsUsed toner equivalentsReclaimed road (asphalt)Lukela Avenue, Budgewoi221,05341, 1765,04028 tonnesMelbourne Street, East Gosford301,95856,2476,88538 tonnesDirector of the Plastic Police® program, Samantha Cross said she was thrilled to see the program expand into schools and is looking forward to seeing the collaboration with Council progress.“Central Coast was the first Council to come on board following our initial trial and we are really excited about what we will be able to achieve this year as the program expands,” Ms Cross said.“We are passionate about further educating these school communities about the simple actions they can take to help further reduce the waste sent to landfill.“Plastic is a major environmental issue, with almost every piece ever created still in existence;

Solutions for the future of The Entrance channelCouncil has heard loud and clear from its community that a long term solution is required for The Entrance channel.The first step will be to set aside budget funding and to also seek grant funding to help guide the actions needed to improve the condition of the Tuggerah Lakes system and The Entrance channel.Preliminary designs for a long-term solution to the channel’s silting will be developed, while a dredging program will be considered in the short-term.Council will draw on previous studies conducted into the 2013 and 2015 to help guide the work.Mayor Lisa Matthews said the weekend’s storm event had been very distressing for all affected residents.“The Entrance channel has been a longstanding issue for the Coast community, and we all want to see the area thrive and residents able to feel secure,” she said.“Finding the best solution is a difficult and complex challenge and we are committed to getting it right.

Central Coast Council and the Central Coast NSW State Emergency Service (SES) held a press conference in Wyong today to update the community on clean up and recovery efforts following the severe wet weather that has seen the region impacted with significant rainfall and king tides.Residents are being urged to contact Disaster Welfare on 1800 018 444 for any assistance if you require support.Over 650 trees and branches have fallen on public land or required maintenance and pruning due to structural defects, nearly 1,600 calls have been logged with the SES and thousands of people were left without power, with many people still impacted.Central Coast Council Mayor Lisa Matthews said Council is coordinating assistance and working closely with the NSW SES, Ausgrid and other agencies to support our community in our time of need.“It has been a tough few months for our community.

Due to limited public gallery capacity at Council Meeting Chambers and to ensure the safety of the community, attendees wishing to participate in the Public Forum and the Council Meeting will be required to sign-in in person on the day of the meeting.

Central Coast Council, The Office of Emergency Management and Disaster Welfare will visit Mangrove Mountain on Wednesday 26 February from 5-8pm for residents requiring assistance and support following the flood and storm event.Council staff and other agencies will be on hand to provide residents with information and advice around recovery and clean up, as well as direct assistance with their properties.Council Director Connected Communities, Julie Vaughan said residents are encouraged to visit the centre for assistance.“As our community continues to clean-up after the storm, I’d like to remind residents that there is help out there for anyone that needs it,” Ms Vaughan said.“We want to make sure that any affected residents receive the right support and their lives return back to normal as soon as possible.

Central Coast Council wishes to correct the record in relation to information provided to the Mayor that was shared with the media.In an Office of the Mayor media statement issued on 14 February 2020, it was mistakenly stated that Council had been waiting for NSW Government funding since June 2019.   Whilst Council submitted an application to the NSW Government’s Rescuing our Waterways Fund in November 2019 when the formal funding program had opened, Council had also proactively submitted a prior request for funding in June 2019 outside of the program open period.  Council was advised on 13 February 2020 that the funding application was successful and granted $600,000.

Central Coast Council has expressed concern at the worrying trend of social media comments inciting violent behaviour towards Councillors and staff ahead of Monday night’s Council Meeting.Council CEO Gary Murphy said that whilst the community can disagree with recent Council decisions, any behaviour threatening harm would not be tolerated.

Following Central Coast Council’s adoption of a Climate Change Policy last year, the community is encouraged to become actively involved in the program’s next phase with a series of place-based community workshops kicking off.Throughout 2020, Council staff will be conducting 17 community workshops and running online consultation to build a whole-of-community approach to climate action.