Margie Maccoll
The February floods have left Noosa Council with a repair bill of essential assets estimated at $20-30 million with more than 500 projects already posted including the Black Mountain Road landslip.
Fortunately for ratepayers, Council has been able to access disaster grants from State Government’s Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements that are administered by the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) and aim to contract Erscon Engineering Consultants to manage the repairs.
In addition, advice to Council indicated they would also have a number of other essential assets that have been identified as suitable for reconstruction to ensure greater resilience during future events.
At its general meeting on Monday, councillors were told by staff that Erscon had been engaged initially during the flood event to gain an understanding of the works needing immediate repair and staff have now recommenced continuing on the much larger repair project.
Erscon was a local company, highly recognised, highly regarded by QRA and considered by them to be a preferred supplier, they were told.
The contract to Erscon is expected to be for a 27-month period to 30 September 2024 for an amount of $2.1 million of which $2m will be recovered from QRA with Council to provide payment of $100,000.
“We think this is a reasonable amount to deliver this work and maximise the funding available. If we don’t do it this way it would delay the process and we would have to find someone else,“ councillors were told.
Cr Brian Stockwell described the works to be done as similar to a Council’s annual capital works program.
By getting specialists in, we will be in a position to get it done as fast as possible and have the capacity to deliver our capital works program, he said.
“We don’t have the resources or staff to do this and it’s difficult to get it done in this market. This is the best way to maximise a return in the best time,“ staff told councillors.
“This is clearly the way forward … to ensure these assets are returned to the level they were before if not better,“ Councillor Joe Jurisevic said.
The works will be done on a priority rating with the most urgent works conducted first and to a standard required by QRA, council heard.
Councillors voted unanimously to proceed with the contract with a final decision on it to be decided at Council’s Ordinary meeting on Thursday.
