HELLO, last week was a big week for MidCoast Council (MCC) with its first meeting since the local election.

Congratulations to our new Mayor, Claire Pontin, the new Deputy Mayor, Alan Tickle, and our new Councillors.

The Progress Association (PA) is organising for a number of Councillors to visit our area on a regular basis to understand our issues and requirements, with the first meeting scheduled for 28 January.

Please follow us via Facebook or the internet for regular updates about dates, times, location and how to contribute to the agenda.

Sadly, both the Lions and Skate Parks were recently badly vandalized with offensive graffiti, with the latter upsetting a number of young local skaters.

We filed a report to the NSW Police and to MCC, including to the MCC volunteer, Ted Bickford (the famous Graffiti Buster).

Ted was able to quickly mobilise a team to repaint the Lions Park amenities and remove all the graffiti from the Skate Park ramps as seen in the photos.

Members of both the Lions Club and Progress Association also cleaned the amenities, which we appreciate the Lions have been doing every Monday morning for over a year.

A huge shout out to Ted and to all the volunteers as this clean-up was just in time for a free holiday skating clinic organised by the MCC in conjunction with The Totem Collective to be held at 9am this Sunday 23 January at the Skate Park.

On the clean-up theme, we have also registered a number of local sites for Clean Up Australia on the 6 March and welcome community support – stay posted.

This week the PA has its first executive committee meeting, and we look forward to progressing many old and new matters, including the Singing Bridge repairs, street and public information signage, and upgrading the Hawks Nest Community Hall where we host our meetings.

I have also been invited to participate in the MCC Southern Area Reference Group (SARG) this year and look forward to advocating for our community.

The SARG’s focus includes community planning for the southern area of our Local Government Area, which is a key priority for the PA this year.

Finally, the Lions Club Australia Day Breakfast BBQ has unfortunately been cancelled due to the importance of upholding community safety and well-being given the escalation of Omicron.

I sincerely hope you can enjoy the day safely along our beautiful beaches and rivers.

 

By Bruce MURRAY, President of the Progress Association