Central Coast Council has launched an annual Community Engagement Plan 2023-24 which will include progress reports to Council as part of the Operational Plan.The Community Engagement Plan seeks to address community concerns about having more awareness of forward community engagement activities being undertaken by Council.Council Director Community and Recreation Services, Melanie Smith said Council has an Engagement Framework that defines our approach to engagement to ensure accountability and consistent application.“The annual Community Engagement Plan will be available for the community to view on Council’s Your Voice Our Coast website and will be updated quarterly in line with Council’s quarterly reporting cycle,” Ms Smith said.“Council’s engagement platform, Your Voice Our Coast sees an average of 98,000 unique visits annually hosting a range of projects from infrastructure delivery to policy updates.“While Council regularly informs the community and does see high engagement, we are always looking at ways we can improve.“By showcasing our upcoming engagement activities, the annual plan will enable a more inclusive process for community engagement, as the community can view other projects that have not yet commence engagement activities and share a preliminary comment on or even opt in to stay updated.“While this is an exciting step for our engagement with the community it is also a timely reminder that planned activities may change and additional engagement activities may be identified as we progress projects.Council Administrator Rik Hart said we’re committed to building strong relationships and delivering a great customer experience in all our interactions.“This plan will help to engage and communicate openly and honestly with the community to build a relationship based on trust, transparency, respect and use community participation and feedback to inform decision making.“This plan is a roadmap for the community to ensure a balanced and collaborative decision-making process between the community and Council is achieved.”View the Community Engagement Plan at yourvoiceourcoast.com/engagementplan and sign up to Council’s eNews to have your say.

   Central Coast Council is calling on local amateur artists over the age of 50 to enter its popular Grandma Moses Art Competition and Exhibition, hosted at Gosford’s 50+ Leisure and Learning Centre.Central Coast Council Director Community and Recreation Services, Melanie Smith said this long-standing fixture on the cultural calendar is now in its 39th year. “The competition takes inspiration from the life and work of American artist Anna Mary Moses, affectionately known as Grandma Moses, who created over 1,500 artworks between the ages of 78 and 101,” Ms Smith said. “It’s never too late to expand or learn new skills, and this is a great opportunity for our older residents to brush up on their painting or drawing skills, exhibit their artwork and potentially win.

Central Coast Council has commenced the Somersby and Kariong Catchments Overland Flood Study, and is calling on the community and stakeholders to participate in an online survey to help provide a better understanding of overland flooding in the area.An online survey is open from Monday 21 August until Sunday 22 September on Council’s engagement hub, yourvoiceourcoast.com.Council Director of Environment and Planning, Alice Howe said the results of this survey will help Council better understand, plan for, and manage the risk of flooding across the Kariong and Somersby catchment areas.“Strategic flood studies and plans are used by Council to appropriately manage development within Central Coast floodplains and to guide mitigation works (under the NSW Government's Flood Prone Land Policy),” Dr Howe said.“We have engaged a specialist flood consultant to develop a Flood Study for the Kariong and Somersby catchment area, which will define the nature of overland flooding and provide a comprehensive technical understanding of flood behaviours and their associated risks.“The study area consists of the Kariong residential area, the Somersby industrial area, and the rural residential area immediately to its north.

Central Coast Council has developed online flood risk tools and updated flood and emergency planning information on centralcoast.nsw.gov.au, to help the local community understand their own flood risk and be adequately prepared to respond.Council Director Environment and Planning, Alice Howe said we’ve experienced various types of flooding on the Central Coast and know that flooding will continue to be part of our lives, and can occur at any moment.“Whilst it’s not always possible to predict when, where, or how big the next flood will be - we can estimate the likelihood of different sizes of floods and their consequences by using computer flood modelling,” Dr Howe said.“Our new interactive online flood risk mapping tool for Tuggerah Lakes area, draws on current flood levels directly from the Bureau of Meteorology and converts it into a visual display, which shows the extent of current, minor, moderate or major flood levels for specific properties in the area.

Central Coast Council’s Façade Improvement Support program opens on Friday 1 September, providing businesses and commercial property owners with the opportunity to access up to $5,000 to enhance their building facades and improve accessibility.To increase chances of funding success, Council is hosting two free information sessions this August that provide information on program guidelines, eligibility, and timeframes.

Central Coast Council is pleased to confirm the makeup of its Aboriginal Advisory Committee which was officially endorsed at Tuesday night’s Council meeting.The Aboriginal Advisory Committee has a mandate to advise Council staff on identified issues that impact on local First Nations people, address relevant social issues identified in the Community Strategic Plan, and work to address outcomes aligned to the recently developed Central Coast Council First Nations AccordSignificant interest was received earlier this year when Council called for expressions of interest in a position on the committee with the following residents successfully appointed as members.•    Phillip Bligh•    BJ Duncan•    Steve Ella•    Colleen Fuller•    Vickie Parry•    Jake McDonald•    Monica McKenzie•    Shahni Wellington•    Wayne Merritt (alternate) Council’s Director of Community and Recreation Services, Melanie Smith said the committee will play an important role with providing advice to Council.“The Aboriginal Advisory Committee is important in reconciling Council with our local First Nations People and they will provide advice to us across a number of issues but are not a decision making body.”Council Administrator Rik Hart said he is pleased with the makeup of the committee and each member brings diversity of experience and knowledge.“There was an outstanding pool of candidates who expressed their interest in being appointed to Council’s inaugural Aboriginal Advisory Committee,” Mr Hart said.“The appointed members represent significant experience and interests across a broad sector of our local Aboriginal community, with extensive experience in critical service provision such as health, education, housing, arts, culture and sport.“I am confident that the appointed members share a desire to make our community a better place and will bring great credit to the role.”

As part of improving Central Coast Council’s water and sewer services, a new water and sewer Customer Charter has been developed in partnership with the community.

Central Coast Council is working to distribute and complete a customer satisfaction survey about Central Coast library membership services currently available for readers and visitors.

Thirty-two nations, one dream, one trophy – forever world champions.

Council’s Public Forum trial was concluded following the June 2023 meeting.