Discussion:
Shakopee Parks and Recreation Department’s program and service delivery has been severely impacted by COVID/Post-COVID rules and protocols. Staff has had to respond to the rapid and dynamic changes in the guidance and requirements to ensure appropriate adjustments are made to ensure compliance. Meanwhile, customers are left with concerns and questions that flexible and agile staff must be proactively anticipating and continuously preparing to navigate these emerging needs. It is extremely difficult to recruit and retain confident and competent staff in the best of times, and in the present environment it is proving almost impossible to fill requisitions.
The programs and services division has had to reimagine and reinvent itself numerous times to be able to address these emerging customer needs, and it has executed the mission with phenomenal form. Online virtual programming was new and successful. Our new “rec-on-the-go” resources webpage received rave reviews from residents. We’ve created new programs for youth to address these new interests: Ninja Warrior, Stuff-and Fluff (build a stuffed animal), Lego Build, Private Archery Lessons, Creative Crafting, Introduction to Drones, or Pickleball, and Disc Golf. These popular programs have been booking full with revenues exceeding 2019 by more than $10,000.00 at the same point in the Summer that year. Newly formed partnerships with Carver County Parks District and the Three Rivers Parks District have enabled us to add new programs that allow families to explore new interests together: Canoeing, Kayaking, Paddleboard, Kick Sledding, Maple Syruping, Snow Shoeing, and Cross-Country Skiing. The ability to respond to these dynamic changes in operating environment and customer needs demands a level of skill and expertise that we can not recruit let alone retain in this market.
In the face of critical staff shortages for the Parks and Recreation Department and a labor market that is yielding no Part-Time applicants we are having to continually re-evaluate what programs and services we can deliver. Meanwhile, we continue to lose our most qualified and valued Part-Time Staff to other organizations that offer higher Part-Time wages or Full-Time positions. Therefore, to ensure the department has the staff required to provide those predictable quality programs and services that residents expect, we request approval to convert a current Part-Time Recreation Coordinator position (Grade 60 Step 3) to a Full-Time Recreation Specialist position (Grade 130 Step 3). This conversion ensures we have qualified competent staff to fulfill our mission.
The Full-Time Recreation Specialist at Grade 130 Step 3 will cost $79,096.00 ($52,487.00 in wages and $26,609.00 in benefits) with $29,345.68 of that cost covered by the conversion of the Part-Time Recreation Coordinator position (Grade 60 step 3). This leaves a balance of $49,096.32 that we will strive to cover with our creative efforts to increase revenue and initiatives to reduce expenses (cost efficiencies, partnerships, donations, and sponsorships).
Therefore, I request that the Mayor and Council approve the immediate conversion of Part-Time Recreation Coordinator to Full-Time Recreation Specialist to be recruited internally at Grade 130 Step 3.