Administrator comes out of semi-retirement
Mr Ian Reynolds, the administrator of the Central Coast Council until September 2017, has come out of semi-retirement to take on the challenge of building the new council out of the remains of the former Gosford and Wyong Councils.
Mr Reynolds said he is from Sydney but is currently looking for rental accommodation on the Central Coast.
"I have spent just about every night up here since the proclamation on May 12," he said.
He said he was "really pleased with the reception" he had received at the first meeting of the new Central Coast Council, which was held in the former Wyong Council chamber on May 25.
"From my point of view as the administrator, I want to be as open as possible...I want to be known as a person and not a bureaucrat," he said.
When asked what he wanted to achieve during the administration period, Mr Reynolds said: "In detail I don't know what I have inherited".
He said CEO Rob Noble's time as acting CEO of Wyong Council meant that they had much more of an understanding of the northern area of the new local government area than they did the southern area or former Gosford Council.
Mr Reynolds said he had worked for the former Gosford Council in a planning role for a period of time during 2015 but still needed more information.
He has already called for status reports on major projects but none from the Peninsula has been named at this stage.
"If I am going to be called upon to make those decisions I need to know about them, I have asked for reports so I am aware of where we are up to," he said.
In terms of how he would be determining development applications on major and controversial projects, Mr Reynolds said: "I am not here to do the government's bidding; I am here to serve the council.
"Business goes on and we have to deal with business as usual."
Interviews, 26 May 2016
Rob Noble, Central Coast Council
Ian Reynolds, Central Coast Council
Media release, 25 May 2016
Alison Ayres, Central Coast Council
Reporter: Jackie Pearson