Parks staff ask trustees for a full-time maintenance technician to handle heavy weekend use and reduce seasonal turnover

Parks Superintendent (presenter) and park staff asked the board to add a full-time Park Maintenance Technician II to the 2026 staffing plan to respond to increased park use, aging infrastructure and seasonal staffing turnover.

Park operations staff told trustees the department currently has two Park Maintenance Tech II positions and one irrigation specialist; much of the routine summer work relies on short-term seasonals who often leave midseason. The requested full-time position would expand weekend coverage on a four-day shift pattern (for example Friday–Monday or Saturday–Tuesday) to provide consistent weekend maintenance, splash-pad compliance checks, tournament preparation and faster response to vandalism. Staff emphasized the value of a full-time hire for training, equipment safety and continuity.

Trustees broadly supported the request during discussion and suggested possible budget offsets, including reducing some seasonal wage funding that had been moved between recreation and parks budgets. Trustee questions centered on where the salary and benefits would be budgeted and whether the seasonal budget could be reduced if the full-time hire is approved. Park staff said the department moved an $85,000 seasonal line to the parks fund to streamline hiring and indicated some seasonal dollars might be reallocated if a full-time position is added.

No formal hiring authorization was approved at the meeting. Trustees asked staff to return refined budget numbers showing the net impact of converting seasonal funds to a full-time position and to identify any ongoing savings from reduced overtime and improved continuity.