Matt O'Rourke to leave Goulburn Mulwaree Council for new horizons

Matt O'Rourke will leave his role in mid October to take up an executive position with the ACT government's major projects group. There he will be overseeing delivery of hospital and civic infrastructure.

READ MORE:

Goulburn Mulwaree Council throws open doors to new aquatic centre

Towrang's elder 'stateswoman' takes centre stage at bridge opening

Goulburn Performing Arts Centre opens before packed audience

Goulburn Regional Hockey Centre officially opens

Mayor Peter Walker announced Mr O'Rourke's departure at Tuesday night's council meeting.

"As a councillor, deputy mayor and mayor, you come across people in life you think are good people," he said.

"...You're a great director, a good friend and the amount of time and effort you put in above your pay packet is a credit to you.

"...(I've had the opportunity) to see how passionate you are about Goulburn Mulwaree and the way you roll up your sleeves to negotiate the best outcome for ratepayers just shows the cut of the man. We will miss you."

ALSO READ: Residents submit thousands of claims as worst weather damage recorded in six years

Mr O'Rourke will end 17 years employment with the council over two stints.

He took up an engineering cadetship with the former Goulburn City Council in the mid 1990s, rose to become water services manager and helped steer the city through drought in the early to mid 2000s.

Mr O'Rourke left for a position at ACTEW AGL in 2005 but returned to Goulburn Mulwaree Council in 2015 as operations director. Over the past seven years he has overseen everything from roads, bridges, footpaths, walking tracks, Goulburn CBD's upgrade, construction of a new works depot and other major projects.

"There have been a wide array of things and it's been a terrific experience," Mr O'Rourke said.

Major projects over the past few years have been a particular highlight. Since 2016, the Goulburn Performing Arts Centre, aquatic centre, regional hockey complex and Towrang Bridge have been completed, with a combined cost of more than $60 million.

"It's been a wonderful experience to follow those projects through from inception, shape them up from the community working party and move through the more formal investigation, design and delivery," Mr O'Rourke said.

"I'm very pleased to have had that opportunity because this town won't do projects like that again for some time."

ALSO READ: Blast from the past: Lilac Festival recaptures seventies fever

At a recent council meeting, he advised councillors that road repair and maintenance should be the focus in coming years, rather than major works, unless grants were secured.

He told The Post that staff had worked "diligently" to make the most of sometimes limited dollars. When tenders for the aquatic and performing arts centres came in above budget, staff were able to refine the scope, cut $10m out of them and still realise "wonderful facilities."

There have also been extensions to the Wollondilly Riverwalk and replacement of about nine other bridges on Goulburn Mulwaree's rural roads. In addition, major upgrades to Mountain Ash and Windellama Roads are underway and aged sporting amenities are being replaced.

Successive heavy rainfall over the past few years has extensively damaged roads and infrastructure. So far, the state government has approved $18.6m in disaster funding for Goulburn Mulwaree, with $11.6m spent. Mr O'Rourke said repairs would take time and focus and more permanent fixes were essential.

"But I do compare our road network when I'm travelling and our staff are doing very well keeping on top of it. It's not perfect but it's pretty good," he said.

ALSO READ: Elderly woman sustains injury after car strikes building

A kit bag of local knowledge had been a boon, councillors noted on Tuesday. Cr Bob Kirk said it was a shame the council was losing Mr O'Rourke and praised him for his leadership on projects and initiatives.

"I've enjoyed our involvement at a personal and professional level. Thank you for all you've done and best wishes for the future."

Mr O'Rourke said he had loved his job and would look back with pride on the projects his team had realised.

"I consider myself fortunate to have had this role for eight years," he said.

"It's a matter now of me reassessing a few things and pursuing what I need to because I have a substantial part of my working life to play out. I want it to be rewarding, enjoyable and challenging and I need to go somewhere else to find it."

He intends to remain living in Goulburn, close to family.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:

The