Minutes - Council Work Session - 05/23/2023

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time position. She noted that this position is much more than entry level; however it is at entry level pay. Parks and Assistant Public Works Director Riverblood noted that he is not a part of the exit interviews so if his leadership was an issue it would have been discovered. He noted that former Recreation Specialist Martinez-Flynn left for a better salaried job. Councilmember Howell asked what positions are similar to what the City currently has or what is suggested in surrounding cities. Administrative Services Director shared what roles the surrounding cities have in place that are similar to what they are proposing. She noted that the title ‘Recreation Program Coordinator’ is very common. She noted that all of these employees in other cities would report to an employee similar to Parks and Assistant Public Works Director Riverblood. City Administrator Hagen shared that Champlin has a Parks and Facility Manager, a Recreation Manager, two Recreation Supervisors, and a Parks and Public Works Admin. Councilmember Howell stated that for the Communications Specialist, Staff visited Elk River because they had a process. She asked if there are cities in the area that Staff likes how things are being run that they would want to go visit. Administrative Services Director Lasher noted that Elk River does have a Recreational Coordinator that reports to a Recreational Manager with a salary within the range that they are proposing. She stated that they are very friendly with sharing job descriptions and she will be reaching out to them. Councilmember Woestehoff shared his support for this as he does not imagine the parks and event workload decreasing anytime soon. Councilmember Specht noted the budget and asked if this is where they want to invest the resources that the City has or if they would rather invest more in the infrastructure and come back to this item later. He added that there are a lot more capital investments that need to be made and that it will likely be a tight budget year. Councilmember Riley commented that they have a lot of great people in this position but it is an entry level position which is why people leave. He asked if they can shoot for a more experienced individual for this role. He shared his hesitancy to committing to adding another Staff member. He asked if they bumped up wages and experience if this could fix the problem. Administrative Services Director Lasher shared that she thinks this would significantly help. She discussed the success that they had finding a Communications Specialist once the role was adjusted. Councilmember Specht asked if adding this role they will be able to fit this into the budget while still raising salaries to fight inflation. City Council Work Session / May 23, 2023 Page 8 of 12