Brendan Logan, Lismore City Council's Chief Operating Officer and now Chief Financial Officer, gave an update on the East Lismore Sewage Treatment Plant, landslip road repairs, Lismore City Hall and explained his new role in the latest Talking Lismore podcast.

The long-term plan for the Sewage Treatment Plan is due for completion by the end of 2027.

Global design company GHD has been awarded the contract to not only rebuild the plant but to ensure it can handle an increase in population in the future. The project is awaiting a concept design, which is expected to be finalised by the end of this year before construction begins.

The company has set up an office in Lismore to assist with the rebuild, so it will be contributing to the local economy as well.

Mr Logan also said Lismore City Council had executed a funding agreement with state agencies should funding costs go over the allocated budget. Something he feels is likely to occur, given the total amount of grant money on offer and the increasing construction costs.

The new sewage treatment plant will be out of flood reach, with the critical components 11 to 14 metres above the current level.

Mr Logan also confirmed what most of Lismore expected: that the current state of the East Lismore Treatment Plant can not handle even 100 of the 400 homes promised by the state government in its Crawford Road (East Lismore) Resilient Lands project. The project looks likely to be delivered in conjunction with the sewage plant in 2027.

The update on the City Hall reconstruction project was positive, as work has recommenced. Mr Logan said that delays were caused by funding constraints and the need to secure a comprehensive funding envelope.

"We spent about $1.5 million last year, just on the early works, to make the site safe, dry it out, all those prep works that would have to be done no matter what the future of City Hall was. But after that, we did have to slow down until certain funding envelopes and certain parameters were identified and worked on by us and the state. But I'm pleased to say that's all behind us now. We are turning our eye to that reconstruction."

The project is now moving into the reconstruction phase, with a focus on “building back better.”

The new City Hall will be a multi-use facility with flood resilience built in. It will include a conference venue with three separate rooms that can accommodate up to 1,000 people, a performing arts space, and a commercial kitchen and bar.

He expects the new City Hall to open at the end of this year or early next year.

Lismore City Council is also moving forward with plans to repair roads damaged by landslips in the northern part of the catchment, with tenders for the major works expected to be awarded by the end of the fiscal year.

Three construction companies have been shortlisted for the project after a competitive tender process. The companies, which are joint ventures of multiple entities, were selected from a pool of 11 companies that submitted bids. The companies will now progress to the second phase of the tender process, which involves site visits and developing detailed bids to win the contract.

Mr Logan emphasised the importance of the project for the community, stating that it goes beyond a simple construction project.

“This is a community project,” Logan said, highlighting the impact of road closures on residents, particularly school children. He stressed the need for the contractors to understand the community’s needs and to be collaborative during the construction process. He explained that road closures whenever we have 25 to 50mm rain events can cause significant disruptions, adding an extra 40 minutes to school bus routes.

Logan said the council expects to have the tenders back by late March. The assessment process for such a large project is complex and will take a month or two. He said the council has probity advisors, and the process must be done in a “very, very succinct way and done the right way.”

Rebuilding the two sections of Nimbin Road was geotechnically challenging. They reopened in late 2023 and early 2024. Mr Logan said the rest of the roads are more difficult.

“Stony Chute Road, for example, has 11 separate landslips on the one road. It’s really challenging,” Logan said.

He said the current package includes about 70 projects like Nimbin Road. “It’s the largest landslide remediation package, I understand, ever in Australia,” Logan said.

Mr Logan offered more positive news on the timing front when he said council has improved on the original 2029 completion date by taking work out of the package and doing it now.

“It’s been a progressive piece of work, but we’ve always tried to separate into what we call complex and non-complex,” Mr Logan said. “If it’s complex geo technically, it goes into this package. If we can get it down to non-complex, it comes out.”

The current strategy is to finish all the straightforward projects. “And, it’s been done quietly, I guess, but we’ve delivered about 20 of those in the last six months, and we’ve got 20 on the go now, just smaller jobs here and there, but we want them out of the way before this big one starts, so the market can handle it,” Logan said. “Because you’ve got cement trucks, you’ve got all these constraints that exist. If you did it all at once, you’d never get it done.”

Mr Logan said the council is forecasting a completion date of the fourth quarter of 2028 rather than the original fourth quarter of 2029.

To listen to the full podcast with extended details, click on the Talking Lismore podcast button in the News section.