Minutes - Council - 07/25/2023 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilmember Howell stated that Ms. Proulx seems like a very qualified candidate so she does not have any concerns in regard to the candidate. She shared her concerns with the City competing with the private sector in terms of programming. She noted that she does not have a problem with programs, she would just like to see them self funded. She added that bringing on the Recreation Coordinator would produce more government funded programs while she sees the City needing to focus more on the infrastructure. Parks and Assistant Public Works Director Riverblood responded stating that he heard Council’s concerns with some of the programming. He noted that they have added fees to the programs, such as yoga and line dancing. Councilmember Howell thanked Parks and Assistant Public Works Director Riverblood for the information and bringing back yoga. She stated that the way she looks at it is that the City is competing with the private sector and the City would be using taxpayer dollars to fund programming. She noted that she takes issue with this considering the condition of the infrastructure as well as all of the other new employees that will be brought onto the tax role. Acting Mayor Riley noted that one of the important things for him is Happy Days and that this employee would help lead this. He added that this position will also keep all of the parks running. He stated that there is a want and a need for programming. He said that this new position addresses the turnover of the position in the past. Councilmember Specht stated that he does have concerns with maintaining the parks and before more is added on to it he wants to make sure that they are maintaining what the City currently has. He stated that he is not worried about having more programming. He shared that he would like more feedback on how events such as concerts in the park, Happy Days, tree lightings, and other events, would be impacted without this position. Parks and Assistant Public Works Director Riverblood stated that they used a contracted event management company to fill the gap relative to Happy Days which came in around $19,000. He said that if the Council does not fund the Recreation Coordinator position then Staff would need to look at reductions in programs across the board. He noted that Happy Days would require extra staffing to be plugged back in. He added that the position is funded for 2023. He stated that if the Council does not want to fund this then Happy Days and other programming may need to be cut back or eliminated. Councilmember Woestehoff thanked Staff for finding an excellent candidate for the role. Motion by Councilmember Woestehoff, seconded by Councilmember Olson, to authorize the hire of Ms. Abigail Proulx as the City's full-time Recreation Coordinator, contingent upon passing the pre-employment drug screen, effective on or near August 9, 2023, at $30.899 per hour, which is step 2 of the 2023 wage scale, with a credit of 3 vacation days Further discussion: City Council / July 25, 2023 Page 6 of 8