Council has already been working on various initiatives to help reduce the economic impact of the road closure to the local community, including working on various tourism campaigns to promote Mount Beauty and surrounds.
Shire Mayor John Forsyth said Council had also provided both financial and in-kind support for a number of new or reemerging events to attract visitors to the region.
"We've assisted with hosting new events, including NYE Fireworks on Les Peart Oval, and the Mount Beauty Dragon Boat Festival, as well as supporting relocated or reinstated events, including MTB de femme – which was previously held in Falls Creek – and the Mount Bogong Conquestathon, which is now run by the Kangaroo Hoppet committee," he said.
"These four events alone attracted over a thousand spectators and participants, providing a boost to the local economy, and creating a sense of community and inclusion during what has been a tough few years.
"In addition to these events, we have been working with the Red Cross on social events, including community BBQs, and regular trivia nights, with the first trivia night held this week at Settlers Tavern being well attended by the community and visitors to the region."
As Council's efforts to support recovery from the landslip continue to grow, the next step will be to advertise for expressions of interest to develop a community recovery committee.
This committee will help assemble and advocate for recovery programs, processes, services, and activities that reflect the needs of the local community.
For those currently looking for support, a number of services are also working out of the Upper Kiewa Valley, or have made themselves available for outreach to all community members and businesses.
A full list of these services can be found on Council's website at www.alpineshire.vic.gov.au/bhp-road-landslip.
Landslip soil filling Wermatong Pit
Council is also assisting with efforts to have the road reopened to the public by late April, volunteering the use of the Wermatong Pit in Tawonga to dispose of soil removed from the landslip.
Cr Forsyth said fill from the landslip is being used to rehabilitate the Council's quarry, located around 1.5km north of the Mount Beauty township on Damms Road.
"Council has operated this site for a long time as a temporary laydown area for civil works, and it has had a significant amount of material extracted over the years," Cr Forsyth said.
"We're estimating this site could hold around 50,000m3 of soil, and these works will help reinstate this site to what we believe are previous levels.
"Using the Wematong Pit – a location that's close in proximity to the Bogong High Plains Road –means trucks are able to dispose of their load and return to the site to fill up again quite quickly, increasing the amount of fill removed each day."
