Kiama Mayor Neil Reilly has thanked Council staff and community volunteers for their efforts dealing with the damage caused by heavy rain and floods over the weekend.
Cr Reilly today visited the Jamberoo Preschool today, where Council crews and community members have been cleaning up, after it flooded over the weekend.
"Thanks to all the dedicated Council staff who worked across the weekend dealing with the many flooding problems we experienced in our area," Cr Reilly said.
"It is heartening to see our crews working with community members, such as parents from the Jamberoo Preschool, with the clean-up work."
Cr Reilly has called an urgent meeting of council staff and stakeholders tomorrow to arrange temporary accommodation for the Jamberoo Preschool, and to discuss a long-term solution for the service.
"This can't keep happening, it's time we sort this out. We're going to proactively look for ideas and speak to government departments about what funds are available to permanently relocate the school."
"Preschools provide an invaluable service to communities like ours, across Australia, especially in regional areas such as Jamberoo."
"While the preschool is not a Council service, they are an important tenant in one of our buildings, and we will do what we can to help them out."
Flood damaged waste
Council is helping residents cleaning up by waiving the gate fee for flood-damaged green waste at our Minnamurra Waste and Recycling Centre.
Our Minnamurra Waste and Recycling Centre is open 8am to 4pm, Monday to Saturday, at 446 Riverside Drive, Minnamurra.
Flood-damaged general waste, such as building materials and furniture, can be dropped off for free at the Dunmore Recycling and Waste Depot in Shellharbour (Kiama Council has no landfill site).
Kiama Council is covering the gate fee at Dunmore for general waste, for Kiama residents, until 21 April 2024.
Residents simply need to provide their rates notice when disposing of their flood-related waste at Minnamurra or Dunmore.
The NSW Government has also waived its waste levy surcharge for residents disposing of flood damaged waste.
These exemptions apply to waste damaged building materials, furniture, gardening debris and any other flood-related products. It does not apply to recycled materials.
Roads, fields and beaches
Our crews continue to assess and clear local roads, sports fields and other infrastructure.
Swamp Road, Jamberoo is closed.
Please do not drive, ride or walk through flood waters.
All sports fields have a caution status, except Gainsborough Oval, which is closed.
Surf Beach is open, with patrols between 9am and 4.30pm.
Please assess water quality before swimming. It is recommended you wait for three days after heavy rain before swimming, to allow risks like pollutants to disperse.
