Farewell to our Director, Michael Malone, interim Director appointed
Kiama Council's Director Infrastructure and Liveability Michael Malone has announced his resignation from the role. Seren McKenzie has been appointed as interim acting Director.
Mr Malone said: "I am very proud of the things that the team and I have achieved and delivered for Kiama in my tenure in the Director role."
Achievements include:
- the new play zone at Hindmarsh Park that opened a week before the school holidays
- re-opening Jamberoo Mountain Road
- Reacting to flood events in support of the community
- ·new equipment being installed at the Headland Drive Reserve, Gerroa and protecting the heritage of Emery Park
- Installing the stock fencing and the new perimeter fencing at the Kiama Showground that are improving the amenity and reducing maintenance challenges
- Delivering the sale of surplus land to support the adopted budget
- Developing the Draft Waste & Sustainable Materials Strategy to enable community input over the following months
Council CEO Jane Stroud thanked Mr Malone for his hard work and dedication in what had often been challenging circumstances.
"Michael has done a great job as Council has faced ongoing issues due to our financial position, extreme weather events and difficult projects, as well as operating under the NSW Government issued Performance Improvement Orders."
Mr Malone said, "I wish to extend my thanks for all who have worked with me, and helped deliver for Kiama every day. I wish the organisation and the community all the best."
Ms Stroud announced that Seren McKenzie will step into the Acting Director's role in the interim to assist in leading the team.
Seren has been working in Local Government engineering and management roles for the last 18 years. Prior to joining Kiama Municipal Council in June this year, she was Director Infrastructure and Operations at Townsville City Council where she led a team of 1,000 staff delivering across various service areas including Engineering and Asset Infrastructure Planning; Property, Fleet and Emergency Management; Resource Recovery; Construction Maintenance and Operations; and Water.
Seren holds qualifications in engineering, environmental science and management and through her time in leadership positions understands the importance of communicating with stakeholders to deliver quality outcomes to the community.
"Given Seren's strong skillset and the imminent swearing-in of our new Councillors, I wanted to have ensure the role was filled immediately. We will consider when is the best time to conduct permanent recruitment for this role," said Ms Stroud.
"I welcome Seren to the Acting Director role and look forward to working with her as part of my executive team."
