10-14-2015 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Attachment B 3. HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT The Parks and Recreation "Department" began with the LCRA offerings of a youth baseball program in 1957. They expanded on the program offerings over the next eight years to include girl's softball, firearm safety, and "Knothole Day", to see the Minnesota Twins play at Metropolitan Stadium. In 1965 the city became involved in assisting the LCRA by funding the position of Recreation Director with the hiring of Morris Jesperson. The LCRA continued collecting registration fees for youth programs and funding them with supplemental funding from their various fundraisers. In 1969, Jesperson resigned and was replaced by Dick Boss. Soon after, Larry Saiko was hired as Assistant Director to help coordinate the growing number of participants and programs. In 1973, due to increasing demands for girl's activities, an additional Assistant Director was hired to coordinate those programs. In 1974, the Village established a Parks Committee to look into establishing a park in Little Canada. That resulted in the dedication of Spooner Park in 1976, and the aquisition of additional park land which currently encompasses approximately 100 acres. In 1979, Dick Boss retired and was replaced by Larry Saiko as Director of Parks and Recreation. In 1979, Saiko retired and was replaced by Jim Morelan. For the next 13 years, there were several changeovers in the two Assistant Director positions. In 1992, Jim Morelan was hired on a full-time basis as the city's first full-time Director. Little has changed relating to administrative staffing of the Parks and Recreation Department since that time. Additional department history has best been documented on the LCRA website, or in the booklet they produced for their 50th anniversary in 2012. The LCRA continues to be an integral partner with the city Parks and Recreation Department with its' financial support and programming ideas. They currently provide youth fee subsidies of 25% of actual costs along with any needed scholarships approved by the Parks and Recreation Department. That amount had ranged between $5,000 and $8,000 in recent years. LCRA also contributes to the Parks and Recreation Department on an annual basis, by providing an annual appreciation party for all of the Department's volunteer coaches as well as coach uniform shirts and team pictures for coaches. "..\k" 4, SUMMARY OF JOB DIMES: PROVIDE YOUTH TEAM ACTIVITIES: T -Ball, Pop -Up, Baseball, Softball, Soccer, Volleyball, Basketball, and Floor Hockey. kD2. 0.'<3. 7 4. 5. P D6. D Hire and train officials. Find and solicit volunteer coaches. Coordinate with Little Canada coaches, visiting team coaches, and video support team on videotaping games. Determine field and gym availability and set schedules for practices and games. Work with neighboring communities to place participants when a team is full or insufficient registrants. Schedule team photos with photographer and coaches.