Agenda Packets - 1990/08/27 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MEMORANDUM Memo To :Mayor and Council Members From :Ric Minetor, Acting Clerk-Administrato Date :August 17, 1990 Subject :Parks Maintenance Strategies Mary Saarion, Mike Ulrich, and I discussed the options and concerns about Park Maintenance following the August 15th special meeting. We arrived at a recommendation for a Parks Maintenance strategy which ._I believe is acceptable to all parties involved and also which is more efficient in many areas. The thrust of our strategy was to allow decisions to be made at the lowest reasonable level ; and avoid unproductive time in obtaining approvals which often are based solely on the recommendation of the person requesting the approval . You previously received Mary's memo regarding accountability in parks • operations . This served as the basis for a number of our comments . In addition, we discussed the staffing and responsibilities of the parks maintenance staff. We recommend that the responsibility for preparation of the parks operation budget be transferred to the Public Works Department; and specifically the Public Works Foreman. This budget would include all personnel costs, materials, capital equipment items, etc. normally utilized in the maintenance of the parks. The items included in this area include turf management, ball field maintenance, maintenance of parking lots, maintenance of shelter buildings, preparation and maintenance of ice rinks, etc. Minor repair and improvements may also be included. Parks Capital and Parks Improvements would continue to be budget areas under the Director of Parks, Recreation, and Forestry. Projects to be accomplished through these areas would not be handled by City forces, but rather would be let out for bid. There would necessarily be coordination between these budgets as maintenance needs are dictated by the equipment in the parks, and at times, parks improvements can be necessitated by maintenance concerns. We also believe the current level of staffing is adequate under the assumption that parks improvement projects are not done in- house. The time frames of some of the part-time employees may • need to be changed. We feel continued discussion on the feasibility of obtaining part-time help in the early spring is necessary. However, we do not feel the overall cost of part-time