Parks advocates urge caution as council mulls staffing cuts that could affect pool hours

Becky Wolf, a member of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Council speaking as a citizen, told the council she feared staffing reductions could force earlier pool closures. “I just wanted to tell you … my main concern is the staffing reduction because I'm afraid that would mean we'd have to close AquaVenture earlier or something like that,” she said.

Jason Tolleson, a parks board member and local business owner, echoed those concerns and urged the council to protect progress made through downtown revitalization and parks improvements. “Let's try and keep things heading that way,” Tolleson said, asking officials to be careful where they reduce spending.

Parks and other department heads also addressed equipment and staffing needs in their remarks, noting aging vehicles and seasonal staffing pressures. One department head said the parks department runs as many as 200 staff in summer and as few as 16 in winter and stressed that loss of staff or equipment would diminish services residents expect.