dougk
â–º dougk's blog contributions
Article submission A solution for MidCoast Water: Dissolve it.
At an extraordinary meeting of MidCoast Council held on 21 December 2016 it was resolved that MidCoast County Council (which trades as MidCoast Water) should be dissolved and merged as...
Article submission Rate Rise Rejected - for 2017-18
MidCoast Council's plans for a Special Rate Variation (SRV) to apply for four years commencing in 2017-18 have been blocked. An edict from the Office of Local Government in late...
Article A sparkling end to 2016
Last Saturday's meeting of the Residents Association was an opportunity both to celebrate the achievements of the past twelve months and to contemplate the busy time planned for the Cove...
Article Achieving beyond expectations
Another year has almost slipped away from us. Politicians have headed home. TV stations have moved into silly-season programming. It is time, once again, for bush fires, blow flies and...
Article Council will seek Special Rate Variation
At MidCoast Council’s meeting on Wednesday 23 November the Administrator, John Turner, accepted the recommendation to issue a "notice of intention to apply" for a special rate variation (SRV). If...
Article Success!
UPDATE 23 November: It is Official. The recommendation below was approved at today's Council meeting. Recommendations from the Stronger Communities Assessment Committee, to go to next Wednesday's Council meeting for...
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Article Wanton vandalism. Destruction of one of Port Stephens most precious places
For some years now, many North Arm Cove residents have watched, with some trepidation, the proposals, plans and now developments occurring on the eastern side of the North Arm Cove...
(2 comments)Article Fire: Karuah threatened. Cove residents warned.
Some Cove residents were well prepared for evacuation if Sunday's fire, which had threatened Karuah, closed the highway and then jumped the Karuah River, had moved further east towards Carrington...
Article Big roll up at Boat Ramp/Jetty "Drop-In"
Over forty locals turned up at the Community Centre last Tuesday (18 October) to discuss with Royal HaskoningDHV their proposals for a Boat Ramp and Jetty at North Arm Cove...
Article Community Update Meeting
MidCoast Council (MCC) will be holding another ‘community update’ meeting in Tea Gardens Baptist Church at 6pm on Wednesday 9 November. You're invited to come along to find out the...
Article BOAT RAMP? JETTY? Submissions needed!
Do you want a BOAT RAMP in North Arm Cove? Do you want a JETTY? Responses to the Boat Ramp/Jetty plans are required NO LATER THAN 23 OCTOBER! That is...
Article A joyous celebration
There were three hearty cheers at the North Arm Cove Community Centre this afternoon (Sunday October 16) when the community celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the Centre's opening. Visitors and...
Article submission Senior Council staff visit Cove
On Wednesday 12 October, two of the senior staff recently appointed to the evolving MidCoast Council structure visited the Cove for a quick tour and a meeting over an early...
Article submission Excitement Ramps Up - in a dinghy way
It is almost too hard to believe ...After more than three years of sometimes not-so-patient waiting, the go ahead to begin work on two dinghy launching facilities at Casuarina and...
Article Our busy MP!
A good discussion followed an interesting presentation from our State MP Kate Washington when she updated Saturday's Residents Meeting on a wide range of current state issues. The topics addressed...
Article submission Triathlon Treasures
A big thank you to the five intrepid Cove locals who volunteered to assist at the recent Hawks Nest Triathlon Festival. For their day's effort not only did they come...
Article Local application to Stronger Communities Fund
Yesterday, (October 7) the Residents Association, with the support of other local groups, submitted an application for funds to formalise a "Community Precinct" in the village. A Stronger Communities Fund...
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Article Boaties may benefit from review
MidCoast Council has made the Draft Boating Plans for our region available on-line. The North Arm Cove ones are attached below ... If you’re a boatie, kayaker, paddle boarder or...
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Article submission "Help define What is MidCoast?"
What does MidCoast actually mean? Can a meaningful identity encompassing the whole of the merged council area be manufactured? How would Tea Gardens, Hawks Nest, Pindimar, Bundabah and North Arm...
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Article Catch up with Kate MP
Kate Washington, our State MP, is our guest at the October 8 Residents Meeting. (Agenda attached below.)There are many recent and planned changes that directly affect us which are the...
Article Boat Ramp Alert ...
UPDATE!!! Open your diaries and mark down 18th October 10am-1pm which is the time for an important event. You may remember that Royal HaskoningDHV are the company undertaking the investigation...
Article submission A very Ordinary Council decision.
Council election weekend has just passed for many parts of NSW but the residents in this newly minted MidCoast Council area must wait another twelve months to have their say.Meanwhile...
Article submission Did you miss Get Ready Weekend?
Did you miss Get Ready Weekend at the local Fire Brigade? Have you prepared your home? Have you updated your bushfire survival plan?It is that time of the year when...
Article R U OK Day - Mental Health Forum
We have heaps of fancy communications technology and a range of social media apps at our finger tips - but how often do we really connect with those we care...
Article A 20th Birthday Celebration for the Community Centre
The Cove's Community Centre (also known as "The Hall") is so much part of the fabric of our village that it is now hard to imagine the Cove without it...
Article More of the same?
A sausage sizzle on a sunny Saturday provided an excellent opportunity for a community get-together at the conclusion of the Residents Association's meetings on 13 August. The AGM saw last...
Article The Cove and the Koala
When I first began visiting North Arm Cove I heard stories of koalas within the village and that someone was keeping a record of local koala sightings. But then for...
Article Sizzle on Saturday - 13 August
The gathering at the Community Hall on Saturday 13 August from 10am will be as much a celebration of living in this beautiful part of the country as it is...
Article Residents Association Committee Nomination Form
Nominations are invited for positions on the North Arm Cove Residents Association committee. Nominations close on 6 August. The Annual General Meeting of the Association will be held on 13...
Article Familiar look to new Council's executive team
This week saw the announcement of the appointment of four directors to the MidCoast Council's management team. Each of the three directors from the old Great Lakes Council have now...
Article Work begins on Village green
A number of hardy locals braved the chilly winter winds to begin work on the North Arm Cove Village Green. ...
Article Coming to our Census
Only four weeks to go to Australia's first digital census. No, it is not really a count of our fingers and toes! The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has moved...
Article A Broken Crown Lands
Patience they say is a virtue. But three years is just too long to wait.It's now three years since our Residents Association submitted its successful application for Dinghy Ramps. Planned...
Article It's Time ... For People Power
Forget the election! What our village needs now is Direct Action: a real Grass Roots campaign. Working together we can begin to create our Cove Village Green. When: Wednesday 13...
Article Thank you Ian Cook, RFS
Almost two years ago, in August 2014, Ian Cook wrote to our Community to introduce himself as our Community Protection Planning & Neighbourhood Safer Place Officer. He told us that...
Article The Quest for Boat Ramp and Jetty
The struggle for water access in North Arm Cove - including a community boat ramp and jetty - has been a long one which, until now, has always met with...
Article submission Help celebrate 50 years of community teamwork
North Arm Cove is not just a great environment in which to live. It is a generous and caring community that has shown many times how much it can achieve...
Article Council mergers and Federal politics: What a mix!
The Saturday June 11th meeting of the Residents Association will have a little bit of something for everybody.At our April meeting we had a Federal Candidates Debate between Peter Alley...
Article submission Keeping out the heat
Protection Plan work continues at the Community Hall today (Tuesday 17) with workers busy completing the installation of window shutters. These special shutters, now being fitted to the windows on...
Article submission Congratulations to our Hall Committee!
Excellent news just received (Monday May 16) that the Hall Committee has been successful in its grant application for a Volunteers Small Equipment Grant. This will provide $5,000 for a...