The term sheriff is probably a little far-fetched, but he certainly has a sense of ownership in his role as project manager of the Meninya Street Precinct Project.
Things have been made that little bit easier with the impending handover of the street to Murray River Council by Transport for NSW.
The long-awaited change of status for Meninya St, from a state-run roadway to regional status, will see its management handed to the council.
Meninya St, once the new bridge is operational, will have its classification changed to regional and will allow the council to start works without jumping through state-government hoops.
Under the current arrangement whenever works are completed on Meninya St the council is required to apply for a Road Occupancy Certificate.
Murray River Council chief executive officer Terry Dodds said because the road was not owned by the shire it was difficult for any significant project to be undertaken.
Hence the godsend arrival of the new bridge, for many other reasons, but in the case of Meninya St to expedite the change of ownership.
A meeting with stakeholders next week will seek to further clarify the alignment of NSW and Victorian roads managers regarding the re-direction of heavy traffic across the new bridge.
When I spoke to the project manager and CEO on Thursday morning it was easy to picture Meninya St as some sort of living entity, such was the passion for which they described their plans for the streetscape.
Neither of them having any significant medical training (at least none they mentioned), so talk of “breathing life” into the street was a little left of centre.
Mr Dodds clarified his position by saying Murray River Council was hoping to “give the street a heart”.
“Our job is to get their heart beating, to give the street what it always should have had,” he said.
Mr Sherman said geographically Meninya St was "the heart of Moama“, but in its current state it did not feel that way.
“I want to enhance Meninya St to be a people-orientated place that connects it with the surrounding points of interest and bring back that spark to complement Echuca’s vibrant economy,” he said.
He has an appreciation of the region, having grown up only a half an hour away at Stanhope.
“I have spent a lot of my time in Echuca and Moama over the years, whether it’s been playing cricket, water skiing or simply enjoying the amenities and attractions for the tourists and locals,” he said.
“This was one of the reasons I thought I’d make a good candidate for the role as I have that local knowledge combined with the technical project management experience.”
Mr Sherman said he was sold on the idea of tackling the Meninya St project by his love for the area and wanting to see it grow.
His brief was to build on the Meninya Street Master Plan, outlined in 2019, that provided loose goals for the project.
By the middle of next month he will have his advisory committee in place, which will allow for significant additions to those almost three-year-old plans.
“The project team, advisory committee and council will build on those plans to develop a concept plan for community input and the future direction of the project,” Mr Sherman said.
There is no lack of input coming Mr Sherman’s way, community groups and businesses eager to have their say on subjects like pedestrian orientation, creating a sense of place and connecting Meninya St about 10 other projects either in the pipeline or already under way.
“I’ve worked on several multi-faceted projects requiring extensive consultation and engagement,” he said.
“I’m lucky to bring experience from different industries that provide applicable skills to the Meninya Street Precinct.”
To put some finer detail into what the project manager has under his jurisdiction, Mr Sherman is responsible for facilitating the planning, design, management and delivery of the Meninya St re-development and linked projects.
He will also be the go-to man for all key stakeholders, which are expected to be represented on the new advisory committee.
Mr Sherman said he was looking for a diverse group that could represent the views of the community, businesses and local industries.
“Council has had a strong response to its call for interest in joining the committee and we expect the number of interested parties to continue to rise,” he said.
Pedestrian-orientated spaces, safety, accessibility, connections, art, culture, history and economic development are some of the boxes that need to be ticked by the project.
The committee will meet a minimum of four times a year, but its initial role will be in contributing ideas to the concept plan.
As for Mr Sherman he has a larger vision for the connection of Meninya St, and Moama, to its Victorian neighbour Echuca.
And the timeline for the delivery of Meninya St, with a strong heartbeat.
“Due to the size, and nature, of the project, it will be divided into stages — minimising the impact to the community and allowing focused stages of work,’’ Mr Sherman said.
“The finish line will be determined on the concept developed and what is feasible from a financial and infrastructure perspective.”
