Remove tip fees for asbestos – Councillor Best

No charge for disposing of residential asbestos waste is one suggestion up for debate at tonight’s Central Coast Council meeting.
Councillor Greg Best has called for costings on a 12 month trial of free asbestos disposal and thinks council should put public health head of revenue.
He is worried that people aged 25 to 40 are at risk with TV popularising renovation and with homes across the coast peppered with asbestos. He says one in three homes built before 1987 have some degree of asbestos in them.
“This material is in hundreds of different products,” he said in his notice of motion to council.
He can’t see the sense in council charging significant amounts to dispose of the deadly material, saying that approach appears to fuel further public health issues as illegal dumping escalates.
“We as a community are losing the battle and I believe we must take a fresh and progressive approach on just how we treat this deadly material,” he said in his submission to council.
“What I am suggesting and advocating for is a whole of community mindset change.”
Will the other councillors agree?
Meanwhile, Councillor Louise Greenaway is calling for an immediate implementation of individual assessments of any tree and vegetation clearing requests until the council can strengthen its local planning provisions.
And Councillor Kyle MacGregor wants to see a 15 per cent ratio of apprentices on any council project, in an attempt to improve youth employment in the area. Details on what this would mean will come to light tonight as he speaks to his notice of motion.
Other topics to be discussed tonight include:
• The draft Central Coast Aviation Hub concept plan: the councillors will vote for or against making it public.
• Appointing the community members to the Mangrove Mountain and Spencer Advisory Committee. Eleven people – one missed deadline so maybe only ten will be considered – applied to be on the committee which the new council formed after public concern about waste activities and landfill issues on the mountain.
• A policy for investment management will be voted on, giving staff direction on how to invest council money.
• The council will formally adopt its meeting dates for next year: expected to be every second Monday at Gosford and every fourth Monday at Wyong. This would mean two ordinary council meetings a month to cover – what fun.
• The financial statements from the council’s first year will be tabled as will a more detailed report card into the council’s successes in its first year. Wyong and Gosford councils amalgamated on May 12, 2016 with the new council run by an administrator until this council was elected in September of this year.
I will read these tomes and report on the interesting bits.
And I will let you know if anything else important happens at the meeting.
– Merilyn Vale