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Collapse Issue 394 - 30 May 2016Issue 394 - 30 May 2016
Collapse  NEWS NEWS
Committee structure to give community a voice
Underpass open by September, says department
New bike shed opened at station
Wicks promises $2.7 million for road repairs
Shorten addresses 400 at Country Club
Police seize commercial quantity of prohibited drugs
Council targets speed in Bourke Rd
Trivia lunch sends four Ethopian girls to school
Executive structure adopted by Central Coast Council
No big planning decisions, says council chief
Administrator visits Woy Woy depot
Administrator comes out of semi-retirement
Funding granted for office extension
War medals are still missing
Mounted police visit the beach
Police hold session at Mingaletta
Business woman addresses Rotary club
EPA claims support for efforts to identify bird deaths
Mass media ignores campaign, says candidate
Road safety talk at seniors' centre
PCYC benefits from major fundraiser
New fire truck for Patonga
The Bays' history book available
Anzac Day with family
Five receive awards for excellence
Classes attend swim school
Red Hatters meet in Umina
Collapse  FORUM FORUM
Vanity project or a rort?
No community of interest with western hinterland
Elect news editors, academics and armchair critics
Eye-catching and informative
Who cares what happens in Woy Woy
Anzac service is not an entertainment
Hotel proposal is over-development
Hotel plans should not be at neighbours' expense
ADSL was vastly superior
Continuing 15 years of management restructure
Collapse  HEALTH HEALTH
Cup cake challenge to raise money for Cancer Council
Donations wanted to help feed disadvantaged
NSW Minister learns of radiotherapy scholarships
Peninsula Village holds dinner for volunteers
Dementia home looks for volunteers
Charity group had 48 bowlers
Collapse  ARTS ARTS
Bouddi Foundation makes arts grants
Four concerts held by progress association
Theatre production gives glimpse of enemy invasion
Crafts centre suffers from vandalism
Arts grants winners will show their work
Art review closes soon
Centenary exhibition
Tickets will be on sale soon
Combining musical career and motherhood
Collapse  EDUCATION EDUCATION
Education department pays canteen wage
School attendance is valuable, says principal
Principal warns against bribery tactic
Private childcare provided at school
Paper plane competition
Preparing for art show
Breakfast club during term two
Cake stall for Stewart House
Projects continue at Woy Woy South
Guest speakers were highlights for principal
Cricket chase for Umina Beach
Special assembly about dinosaurs
Teenage expo visits college
School presented with flags
Kindergarten enrolment starts
Lessons in positive behaviour
Kindergarten open day
Playground upgrade
Responsible pet program
Reading resources room transformed
Excursions to Rumbalara
Two new staff members welcomed
New website for Ettalong school
Students visit writers' festival
Winners in zone cross country
Students march in Woy Woy
Collapse  SPORT SPORT
Outrigger canoe team competes internationally
Peninsula wins Australian Floorball Open
Lions win soccer match, but loss for Umina
Boardriders benefit from club sponsorship
Lorna Buckworth Trophy
Surprise award for netball officer

Committee structure to give community a voice

The Peninsula will have a voice on the Central Coast Council during the next 16 months through a committee structure, according to council administrator Mr Ian Reynolds.

Mr Reynolds said all the committees of the former Gosford Council no longer existed and he had asked for a report from CEO Mr Rob Noble by June 8 to determine what the new council's committee structure will be.

Wyong Council's committees have also been dissolved, Mr Reynolds said.

"There were stacks and stacks of committees across the north and the south of the new LGA," Mr Reynolds said.

According to a register of the committees of the former Gosford Council, the council had 29 committees.

Wyong Council had a different structure with 12 committees, five groups, two working parties and 12 external bodies or groups.

The register of Gosford Council committees lists the names of community representatives, who appear to have been included on the vast majority of the former council's committee.

The database of Wyong Council committees lists community representatives on only one committee, the Tuggerah Lakes estuary.

It is uncertain which, if any, of the committees of the former Gosford Council will be kept.

"We need data first," Mr Noble said.

"Ian will get the list of committees and review it with senior staff but right now we don't know what it is going to look like," he said.

Mr Noble's recommendation to the first Central Coast Council's meeting stated: "There is a need to urgently review those committees and other groups, and to identify opportunities for improved engagement with the community of the Central Coast.

"That review must carefully consider the current legal status of those committees and bodies, the potential legal consequences of any alteration to the constitution or membership of those committees and other bodies, and ensure that future committees of the Council are directed to addressing the needs of the whole community of the Central Coast."

"We are now the Central Coast, we are all part of a big new thing," Mr Reynolds said.

"Part of my role is to make sure the council reaches out to the whole Central Coast," he said.

In addition to getting committees up and running, Mr Reynolds said he had already changed the NSW Government's decision to have all Central Coast Council meetings held in the former Wyong Council chambers.

"The government proclamation meant all meetings would be held in Wyong and I think that is inappropriate so I changed the rules so we can meet in Gosford and Wyong," Mr Reynolds said.

"I don't expect people to come from Patonga to Wyong, for instance, unless they want to come to speak and I would encourage that," he said.

All Central Coast Council meetings will be audio recorded and the public will be able to access those recordings using the Government Information Public Access Act (GIPA).

Mr Reynolds is also moving ahead with the creation of a Local Representation Committee that will be made up of former councillors from Wyong and Gosford as another way of ensuring all communities within the new LGA have a voice.

"I have already spoken with all the councillors bar one," Mr Reynolds said.

"The best way to keep them involved is to give them a seat at the table," he said.

Mr Noble said the NSW Government had provided the administrator with a template terms of reference for the establishment of the Local Representation Committee and that Mr Reynolds was expected to make a decision at the next council meeting about the terms for the committee.

All former councillors have been given written notice that they will be invited to express interest in being part of the committee.

However, Mr Reynolds would not comment on the number of positions available.

"Yes, we are a new council, but there are issues north and south that have a history with them and the former councillors will still have their contacts within the community," Mr Reynolds said.

"The purpose of the committee is to get feedback," he said.





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