Councillors elected Cr Pretlove at a statutory meeting on Wednesday. Cr Pretlove was the sole nominee for the role. 

She said she was thrilled to have another year in the chair.

“I’m extremely honoured to have the support of my peers again,” she said.

“I certainly didn’t walk into the meeting expecting to be re-elected again. You never know with a meeting like this, so I was very happy. I’m excited and am looking forward to another 12 months working with a great team of councillors and council staff.”

Cr Pretlove said the council had many major projects on the horizon.

“We have a lot going on already and have a lot of projects that are just around the corner. A really big one will be the Edenhope community hub, with the Edenhope Mechanics Hall having its last hurrah this weekend,” he said.

“We’re hoping that it will be demolished before Christmas so we can get started with the planning for the complex. There will be a lot of really big decisions for us to make about it.”

She also said roads and mental health would be priorities for the council.

“We are planning to take an advocacy trip down to Melbourne to advocate a range of issues to the government,” she said.

“We will be campaigning for the ongoing financial support of the Rural Outreach Program – we need to know that the funding will be secured into the future.”