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City staff seeks two parks hires to manage expanding trails and open space; cost estimated at about $40,000 next year
Summary
City staff told the council that growing trail and open‑space responsibilities (65 acres open space, 110 park acres, about 10 miles of trails, 7.5 miles of sidewalks) justify two new parks positions; staff estimated roughly $40,000 additional cost to next year’s budget and asked for authority to proceed.
At the Feb. 10 work session, Trevor (city staff) outlined parks and open‑space maintenance needs and asked the council to authorize hiring two parks positions.
Trevor said the city’s maintainable park acreage and trail mileage have grown and staff capacity has not kept pace: the city has about 65 acres of open space and 110 acres of park turf to maintain, roughly 10 miles of trails and 7.5 miles of sidewalks. He said previous staffing grouped many responsibilities into a single general maintenance title and that attrition created an opportunity to reassign duties and hire focused parks positions.
"We have 11 miles of trails... We have a lot of space that's there," Trevor said, arguing that dedicated positions would improve routine inspection and maintenance and reduce safety hazards such as trip risks on tucked‑away trail segments. He told the council the additions could be funded largely from payroll savings this year and estimated that adding two positions would add approximately $40,000 to next year's budget; portions of these salaries would be allocated to storm‑drain, garbage and other enterprise funds, not solely to the general fund.
Councilmembers discussed the tradeoffs between hiring in‑house staff and contracting services. Some members favored in‑house hires to retain institutional knowledge and quality control; others raised concern about future budget flexibility if ongoing personnel costs cannot be sustained. Council signaled informal support and "nods" for Trevor to proceed with hiring steps and return with firmer budget numbers during the formal budget process.
The council did not take a final vote; staff said they would continue budget preparations and report back during the spring budget cycle.
