They say time flies when you are having fun, and that is certainly true of my first two years as Mayor of Lake Macquarie.
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The milestone came up this week, providing an opportunity to look at some of the achievements this Council has made in the first half of its four-year term.
As Mayor, I have had the pleasure of cutting ribbons on fantastic new facilities, most recently the Pasterfield Sports Complex at Cameron Park, a sprawling eight-hectare, all-in-one recreational hub, and on a major upgrade of the Toronto economic centre.
In my first year, I officiated at the opening of the first phase of the Lake Macquarie Transport Interchange at Glendale, and we continue to work with the State Government to advance the development of this key area for regional economic growth.
A strategic business case for the rest of the interchange project is under way, we have secured funding to build the Munibung Road extension connecting Boolaroo with Cardiff, and have developed a long-term vision for residential, commercial and industrial growth in North West Lake Macquarie.
We have taken a lead regionally in waging a war against waste, with the opening of a state-of-the-art organics processing facility at Awaba that paved the way for the introduction of our greener three-bin system, allowing residents to recycle their household food waste into compost instead of sending it to landfill.
We’ve advanced Lake Mac’s ‘Smart City’ credentials with the launch of a citywide LoRaWAN network and we’ve maintained a strong focus on making our City more inclusive, with the installation of accessible pathways and platforms at key locations such as Grannies Pool and Blacksmiths Beach.
One of the most satisfying achievements of the past two years has been working with the community to produce good outcomes, notably on the Belmont Baths, where we were able to come up with a solution that met the community’s priorities for the timely delivery of a safe swimming enclosure.
Much has been done, but there is still more to do. I look forward to working with the community over the next two years to make Lake Macquarie an even better place to live, work, visit and do business.
- Photo: The Mayor and Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald open the first phase of the Lake Macquarie Transport Interchange at Glendale.
