"Any of those naysayers out there, I strongly suggest that you get on to Council's website and have a read of Item 07.22.296 Flood Recovery and Resilience Update on what's been achieved since February this year."
That was the advice of Cr Debrah Novak before councillors unanimously endorsed the report, which provides a summary of Council's current combined disaster recovery status from the March 2021 and February 2022 flood events, and how additional funding is being applied to develop flood resilience and improved storm water strategies.
The report prepared by Civil Services Manager Devin Simpson and reviewed by Director Works and Civil Jamie Fleeting acknowledged that, due to the extent of damage across the region, resources have not been available to fully execute the quantum of restoration works as quickly as the broader community would like. The report illustrates, however, that the amount of road maintenance operations in 2022 is significantly higher than average years.
"Stats like 115,000 tonnes of gravel re-sheet material placed on unsealed roads - that's about six times what Council would usually do," said Cr Pickering, who moved the motion to note the report. "So the size of work being accomplished to repair and rebuild post floods really is remarkable."
Cr Karen Toms also praised the achievements and teamwork of Council staff, from General Manager Laura Black to the "pothole crew"(s).
"These people who work in our community on Council are part of our community, and we should stop throwing brickbats because they are doing an amazing job, on top of business as usual," Cr Toms said.
"We've got $2.5 billion worth of assets to look after, and when they get bashed around with six disasters in two years, it's difficult to catch up."
Cr Novak seconded the motion.
"It's a great end of year Christmas gift to go out knowing our staff have done this extraordinary job for our community," she said. "I know we have a lot of naysayers on social media knocking us for this and that, but when you read the evidence of what our staff and contractors have done for this community, it's an extraordinary effort from everybody."
Cr Pickering also praised the detailed report prepared by Water Cycle Manager Greg Mashiah on the Council and community flood response in Maclean.
"For anyone with spare time who wants to read up on what happened during the floods in Maclean during February/March, the report is amazing reading, the timeline it details are just incredible," he said. "I commend the people of Maclean for working together to actually increase the height of the levee and keep the water out of the town."
Clarence Valley Council currently has four heavy patching and four pothole patching crews working throughout the region to repair roads. Read more what Council is doing to fix our roads in Volume Two of Clarence Magazine which will be published in January.
