Wyong is set to become the headquarters for Central Coast Council with staff based at the Gosford administration building being put on notice that their jobs are to be relocated to Wyong or the Erina depot.
However, with the details surrounding the possible sale of the Gosford building still sketchy and an end to COVID-19 restrictions uncertain, any move before early next year is unlikely.
The Gosford building was identified for sale in Tranche 1 of Council’s asset sales program, but Council has so far released no details of any sale, only saying that asset sale updates will be provided to the community “at suitable milestones”.
Even so, staff with a primary work location of Gosford in their contract received an email last month advising they would be relocated.
Council has been in discussions with the United Services Union (USU), the Local Government Engineers Association (LGEA) and the Development and Environmental Professionals’ Association (DEPA) over details of the relocation.
USU organiser, Luke Hutchinson, said there was much to be discussed.
“Obviously there are a lot of members who are going to be impacted by any move to Wyong, especially those living to the south of Gosford,” he said.
“Members have a lot of considerations with travelling the extra distance, including impacts on childcare arrangements.
“We also need to look at how the move might affect traffic management and parking in Wyong in the interests not just of members but of the public.
“We want to try to avoid bottlenecks at the beginning and end of each day.”
Hutchinson said there were many employees who were not necessarily tied to a desk and options other than a relocation to Wyong were being considered.
“We can’t see any forced movements before early next year with many members currently working from home due to COVID,” he said.
“Even early next year we will have to see how the COVID situation is.”
A Council spokesperson said the Gosford building would need to be vacated upon sale and plans were being made for that now so the impact on staff could be mitigated as far as is practicably possible and the impact on the community was minimal.
“We have been working closely with the union and team managers to identify possible alternate workplace locations for impacted staff and are now consulting directly with impacted staff to understand their individual circumstances and how this will impact them ahead of a physical return to the workplace, when that time comes,” the spokesperson said.
During 2020 work began on upgrading the Wyong administration building, which was budgeted for in the 2018-19 and the 2019-20 Operational Plans, as part of Council’s Facility and Asset Management Program.
These works included an upgrade to the public building entry with changes to the customer service area, the self-service desks, the Council Chamber and improved signposting and accessibility from the entry to the customer counter.
Also, there has been improvements to the call centre and changes to linked staff areas such as a new communal staff kitchen and lunchroom, the addition of new meeting rooms and office space.
An upgrade of safety requirements included fire doors and sprinkler systems, electrical circuits and wiring.
A Council spokesperson said the overriding purpose of the upgrade was to mitigate risks and improve security and safety, for both Council staff and the community or workers visiting the building, and to improve customer experience and workspace efficiencies.
“These works contributed to Council’s ongoing management of security and safety at Council facilities and the delivery of community facilities that meets the community needs,” the spokesperson said.
Terry Collins and Sue Murray