Mayoral Column - 6 November 2024
Published on 06 November 2024
I’m thrilled that Council has secured $754,000 to complete upgrades to Wollombi Village, with improvements set to include the installation of pathway connections, kerb extensions and formalised car parking, ensuring safe access for pedestrians in this busy area of our region. This fantastic project has been made possible thanks to the NSW Government’s Towards Zero Safer Roads Program, and I look forward to seeing it brought to life.
In other exciting news, our annual Plant Giveaway event is officially scheduled for Saturday 23 November. This giveaway reflects Council’s ongoing commitment to promoting local biodiversity, and will be held across two locations, Mount View Basin Park in Cessnock from 8am – 10am, and Booth Park in Kurri Kurri from 12pm – 2pm.
This much-loved event is a wonderful opportunity for residents to not only enhance their gardens, but also play an active role in greening our community, which will help to foster local wildlife and contribute to a healthier environment. 300 free tickets will be available for residents, with one ticket allowed per household. Each ticket holder will receive a pack of six native plant stock tubes. Please remember that the plants can only be collected on the day of the event and any uncollected plants will not be held for later pickup.
Speaking of the outdoors, I’d like to call on all the caravan adventurers in our community! Our Caravan Safety Workshops are back, providing a great opportunity to equip you with essential knowledge for safe and enjoyable travel. Join us at Kurri Kurri Seniors Hall from 11am – 1pm on Sunday 17 November for the workshop, which will be led by qualified instructors from Transport NSW and offer valuable information, with the opportunity to ask your burning questions. Spaces are currently booked out for the Kurri Kurri workshop, so register for the waitlist or another nearby location via this link.
Finally, I want to remind everyone that there are just a couple of days left to nominate outstanding locals for our 2025 Australia Day Awards. We have so many residents in our LGA who do fantastic work every day for our community and I urge residents to take the time to nominate fellow citizens and organisations across various categories – they deserve the recognition! Awards include Citizen of the Year, Senior Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year, Community Event of the Year, and many more. Winners will be honoured at our annual Australia Day Event on 26 January 2025, at the Performance Arts Culture Cessnock (PACC).
Nominating only takes a few minutes, and if you know an individual or organisation you’d like to nominate, please visit the Australia Day Awards page here. Submissions will close on Sunday 10 November, 2024.