No news on wharf upgrade 'perturbs' councillor
A Peninsula councillor has said he is "perturbed" that councillors have not been informed about progress on an upgrade to Woy Woy Wharf.
"The last time councillors were informed, they were told the application was with State Government and that an announcement was only days away," he said.
"Councillors have not been informed of what that result was and I am somewhat perturbed by that."
Cr Mehrtens repeated his earlier calls for the upgrade to be a floating pontoon.
He said floating pontoons had been chosen recently for Koolewong and Ettalong, and had the advantage of rising and falling with the tide.
"Woy Woy is a major commuter wharf and it has been experiencing increasing problems at high tides and king tides.
"Vessels cannot get passengers easily on and off.
"It does not seem reasonable that a small community like Spencer would get a floating wharf but not Woy Woy, one of the major commuter wharfs.
"While the expense may be higher, it needs to be a floating pontoon at Woy Woy," Cr Mehrtens said.
"The main issue for upgrading the wharf has been meeting requirements for disability access," said deputy mayor Cr Chris Holstein.
"You cannot have a single ramp for that without moving the wharf further into the channel which would be an impediment.
"Council needs to look at different designs, to be a bit more innovative.
"Works also need to be done on the foreshore, which is in need of an upgrade and we will continue to push to get that in the budget.
"There has been no confirmation on a floating pontoon but that would be the best way to go because currently the fixed wharf goes under water.
"It is about being able to make it more accessible for the vessels that come to load and unload passengers."
Cr Holstein said he believed the works would be funded via a co-contribution from Council, dollar for dollar with the NSW Government.
SOURCE:
Interviews, 18 Apr 2018
Chris Holstein, Central Coast Council
Richard Mehrtens, Central Coast Council
Reporter: Jackie Pearson