Dedicated team appointed to boost Pyrenees’ flood recovery
Published on 24 February 2023
A new Flood Recovery Team with four specialists has been established at Pyrenees Shire this month, to consolidate Council’s efforts to rebuild and recover after the October and November 2022 flood events.
Three new roles have been appointed and will be led by Council Flood Recovery Coordinator, Jane Bowker who was appointed from her previous role as Recreation Development Coordinator. Ms Bowker and the team will develop and deliver a flood recovery program that emphasises the health and wellbeing of impacted individuals, businesses, and communities.
The team will also coordinate the rebuilding of damaged community infrastructure with a view to making them more resilient to future weather events where possible.
“We’re really pleased to have these experienced professionals to work with our communities and our contractors to deliver this recovery plan and build resilience in our community,” said Pyrenees Shire CEO, Jim Nolan.
Flood Recovery Officer Tony Grimme will be focused on maintaining strong connections with support agencies to aid recovery, while Infrastructure Rehabilitation Coordinator Kim Whytcross will focus on working with several local contractors to rebuild our community infrastructure.
The team will be supported by Flood Recovery Administrator Gillian Matthews, who will bring a strong project management focus and a wealth of local knowledge to the team.
“I’m proud of the way our existing council team were able to mobilise quickly in response to these floods and give such extensive support to our community,” said Mr Nolan. “The job of recovering from last year’s flood events is a huge one, and while efforts are well underway we still have a long way to go. Having a dedicated, experienced team that can tackle the many aspects of this task without taking key Council staff away from their regular roles is a very welcome development.”
The Pyrenees Shire Flood Recovery Plan, which was developed with input from members of the Shire’s business, tourism, environment and community services teams, was approved by Council on 21 February 2023.
Photo: Pyrenees Shire Flood Recovery Team members (from left) Tony Grimme, Kim Whytcross and Jane Bowker