Happy new year! I hope you were able to have some quality time with family and friends over the holiday period and enjoy plenty of the great things that make the Northern Beaches so special over summer.

Thanks to Council staff, hospitality workers, health and emergency services and the many others who kept the place going while so many took their annual break.

And of course all our thanks goes to the many volunteers who also gave up their holiday time to fight the devastating fires we saw ravage much of the state during this time.

Our local district rural fire brigades have sent crews and trucks to parts of NSW every day since the beginning of August.

At our Council meeting just before Christmas, we resolved to call on the government to make sure no volunteers would be out of pocket due to their efforts. It’s good to see there is some action being taken to address this issue at the federal level.

We are continuing to make sure any RFS volunteers who are also employed at Council are not financially disadvantaged or their annual leave entitlements impacted while they are on the fire line. It’s time the Local Government Award was reviewed to see how all councils can better support volunteers in these kinds of emergencies.

More broadly I’ve witnessed incredible generosity and support from across our community all wanting to do their bit to help.

I’ve seen kids selling cupcakes on the street, people asking that money for birthday presents instead be directed to welfare agencies and bushfire supply collections coordinated. It’s fantastic to see such big-heartedness on show.

We are also supporting the fundraising efforts. We facilitated collections by Rotary at the New Year’s Eve event in Manly and the RFS will be collecting at our open air cinema at Brookvale Oval tonight. We’ll also donate any profits from the Sun Run to agencies working on the recovery efforts.

In the meantime we are being told that the best way everyone can help is still through cash donations to organisations like the Red Cross, St Vincent de Paul and Salvation Army.

Have a great weekend. 

We all know the drought is hitting hard and as a Council we have been looking at how we can help those in need. This week I received a particular request from the Mayor of our sister city in western NSW, Gunnedah. Mayor Chaffey asked me to spread the word about the #buyfromthebush initiative, encouraging us all to support businesses in regional areas in the lead up to Christmas. Of course as Northern Beaches Mayor I’d always say shop local, but in this circumstance what a difference we could make if we also all bought something from a business in a drought-affected area. There is a list of Gunnedah’s participating outlets available on our website.

Can I also encourage interested community members to nominate for one of our Strategic Reference Groups. We greatly value the input of these groups in steering our priorities and now have a number of vacancies to fill for 2020. The role is not onerous, meeting once a quarter, but provides an invaluable resource for us to share ideas and seek advice.

We are looking for representatives in the community, tourism and tech sectors, volunteer organisations and those in community transport, among others. Nominations close Sunday 5 January.

Congratulations to teenager Jordyn Richards who took out the top prize at Northern Composure Unplugged last weekend, and to all the competing finalists. Our Dee Why Council Chambers have never sounded so good.

And finally, the last Council meeting of the year this Tuesday night promises to be a big one. You can register to address the Council, attend at the Civic Centre in Dee Why or watch it online.

Have a good weekend.

Michael Regan

What a storm. It hit so quickly and didn’t last long but it sure did some damage. Our thoughts are with those still cleaning up and trying to get houses and cars repaired.

At the time of writing, most people have had power restored but there are still some battling without. I know many people are seeking solace in our libraries to work, take a break, use the internet or charge devices. We have libraries open across the weekend if you need them, including extended hours at Forestville Library. We are also opening Community Centre rooms in the Forest Community Arts Centre from 10am to 5pm Saturday and Sunday. The Warringah Aquatic Centre will also be open until 9pm across the weekend if you need a hot shower.

We have been checking in on our customers of the Home Library Service and Meals on Wheels but if you all can please check on your neighbours – it’s the most vulnerable in our community who suffer most during incidents like these.

A shout out to all those involved in the ongoing recovery efforts. The SES, RFS, Ausgrid and NSW Police have been brilliant, alongside many Council staff, working around the clock to remove fallen trees and manage traffic issues.

If you’re in a storm-affected area and find you can’t fit all the debris into your green bin, you can take up to 300kg of green waste to Kimbriki each day (remember to bring your proof of address). Or you can request we collect it from your kerbside by calling 1300 434 434 or logging an issue.

Council didn’t escape the storm and thanks for your patience to those who use our facilities up at Frenchs Forest and Belrose such as our library, childcare centre and the Glen St Theatre which have been closed this week. We are hoping to get all services back on online as soon as possible.

As many will know, we have a big community event planned to launch Lionel Watts new facilities tomorrow. We did debate whether to postpone given the storm but in the end got all hands on deck to get it cleaned up and ready so the community could have a day out. There’s some great circus-style entertainment for the kids and Skater HQ on hand with comps and giveaways.

I am really proud of what we have been able to achieve with the revamped showground, synthetic fields, new all abilities playground and skate park, co-designed with local young people. And there is more to come.

Have a good weekend.

Michael Regan

It was really impressive to see so many come together this week in the face of 'catastrophic' fire danger.

Our local RFS and emergency services attended a few small fires which were thankfully quickly extinguished. I certainly felt the collective sigh of relief around 9pm Tuesday when the temperature dropped a good ten degrees and it was clear the worst had not eventuated here.

A huge thank you to all those who stepped up to help support and prepare our community in that difficult 24 hour period. From overseeing conditions at the Terrey Hills Emergency Operations Centre to setting up fencing at the horse evacuation sites; to managing road and reserve closures, and providing community updates - we saw a large and coordinated effort across all our local agencies. And of course a particular shout out to all our local firefighters who were on standby, ready to mobilise at a moment’s notice.

We are only at the beginning of what promises to be a challenging summer bushfire season. After witnessing how our services and the community reacted to the threat this week, I have a great deal of confidence that we are ready to face whatever comes our way.

It’s worth mentioning that many others across New South Wales and Queensland were not as lucky as us this week and our hearts go out to those communities affected. If you want to help, organisations like the Red Cross are supporting those bushfire-affected communities and would welcome your donations.

If you are in a fire prone area please make sure you have a bushfire survival plan in place and everyone in your house knows what's in it. The RFS has lots of information available to help you create your plan and be as prepared as you can be for the months ahead.

On a lighter note, the new boardwalk around the edge of Narrabeen Lagoon is now open providing a scenic and safer route away from the busy Wakehurst Parkway. This is a fantastic piece of the Narrabeen Lagoon Trail, a project which has seen the vision of local residents like Jim Somerville and others come to fruition. It's another example of the benefit of the Council amalgamation which has allowed the trail to continue to be completed so spectacularly.

For those so inclined, the trail is a great training location for the Sun Run coming up in February! Registrations open next week.

Have a great weekend.

Michael Regan