4.4. SR 05-17-1999 - Laserfiche WebLink

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~ . . . ',. TO: Mayor Stephanie Klinzing Council Members: J?hn Dietz, Daryl Th~mpson, L~~ Farbe~ ~nd Paul Motin Lana Huberty - ChaIr: Parks and RecreatlOn COmmlSSIOn LLt1 Hiring process for filling Director of Community RecreatiQProgram position. May 17,1999 FROM: SUBJECT: DATE: During the May 12 Meeting of the Elk River Park and Recreation Commission, City Administrator Klaers indicated to the Commission that any advice and/or formal recommendation pertaining to the hiring of a replacement Director of the Community Recreation Program would be welcome by the City Council. Mr. Klaers also stated that the Council needed to allay the concerns of Joint. Powers members, as well as those of regional athletic associations, as quickly as possible on this matter. Finally, Mr. Klaers suggested that this was an opportunity for the Commission to offer the Council some advice about the feasibility of creating a separate city Recreation Department. The Commission discussed Mr Klaer's request and made the following observations: 1. The Community Recreation Program is scheduled to present a quality program this summer under the leadership of Interim Director Michele Bergh. Maintaining a quality program should effectively deal with the short-term concerns of Joint Powers members and recreational associations. 2. The hiring process for a replacement Director is a timely opportunity to look at the question of whether the person hired is to maintain the current program, or to make changes. 3. The hiring process the Council follows will be shaped by its priorities( i.e. maintain the status-quo, make major changes in the current system, or build the capacity to eventually establish a separate Elk River Recreation Department.) 4. The hiring process of a replacement Recreation Director can be an avenue for hiring a person with the qualifications to make a transition from the current combined Streets and Parks Department to a separate Parks and Recreation Department. The Commission has stated that one of its goals for 1999 is to examine the pros and cons of establishing a separate Parks Department, as well as the pros and cons of maintaining the current Streets and Parks Department format. When it established this goal, the Commission assumed that it would take 3-6 months to study the issue and to make carefully researched recommendations to the Council. It is possible to expand this research to look at examples of combined parks and recreation departments. In order to be of assistance to the Council on the hiring process and the separate department issues, the Commission requests direction from the Council as follows: 1. Will the job description of the new hire give priority to maintaining the status quo,