Salem Parks board posting director’s job
SALEM — Anyone interested in the Salem Parks Director position can find all they need to know regarding job responsibilities, qualifications, job description, salary and how to apply on the city of Salem website at www.cityofsalemohio.org.
The informaton was posted Thursday and includes a very detailed accounting of the duties to oversee the city’s Parks and Recreation Department which includes six parks covering over 300 acres. Parks in the system include Centennial, Waterworth Memorial, Kelley, Mullins, Eagleton Glen at Teegarden and the Salem Reservoir, also known as the Salem Lake.
Mayor John Berlin said the Salem Civil Service Commission was consulted on what was needed to post the job, even though the position is not a civil service position. The posting is being advertised in the Salem News classified section. Applicants should print out a copy of a city application for employment from the website, fill it out completely, and submit it with a resume and copy of their driver’s license. Applications can be picked up at the mayor’s office, also, at city hall.
The application packet should be dropped off at the mayor’s office or mailed to: Salem City Hall, Attention John Panezott Sr., 231 S. Broadway Ave., Salem, Ohio 44460. Applications have to be returned no later than 5 p.m. Jan. 2.
The starting salary will be $1,732.52 bi-weekly, pending action by city council next week on a proposed wage hike being recommended for full-time non-bargaining unit city government workers. The proposal calls for raises of 2.5 percent each year for three years, which is the same amount union workers received in the their new contracts earlier this year.
Panezott serves as chairman of the three-member Salem Parks Commission, which oversees park operations and acts as the immediate supervisor for the parks director, along with the mayor, although the mayor has little to do with park operations besides appointing parks commission members.
Berlin said people in the city voted many years ago to have a commission run the parks department so “whatever they’re deciding to do, I support,” adding he’s willing to help them anytime they need help.
The commission agreed during a meeting Wednesday night to separate from Salem Memorial Building operations, acknowledging a need to break free while remaining on friendly terms. How that’s going to look moving forward depends on what’s decided by both the parks commission and the Memorial Building board regarding the location of park offices. The offices for the parks director and recreation supervisor have been inside the Memorial Building for many, many years and both positions have received a portion of salary from the Memorial Building due to operations being so intertwined. Commission members indicated a goal for the parks department to move out on its own eventually.
The decision to separate came not long after both the commission and current Parks Director Steve Faber announced they were going their separate ways in February. Faber will be taking vacation time in January. Recreation Supervisor Shane Franks was named as the interim Parks Director effective Monday. His starting salary will be $1,681.48 bi-weekly, but is expected to increase to the $1,732.52 bi-weekly if city council approves the proposed wage ordinance increase. His work for the Memorial Building will be ending eventually and it’s expected the Memorial Building board will hire a building manager, although the members said nothing had been decided at this point. Franks was named as recreation supervisor by the parks commission in January 2013.
According to the parks director job description, qualifications include “a bachelor’s degree in recreation, parks management, public administration or a related field and a minimum of five years progressive experience in the administration of public parks, recreation, horticulture, landscaping or facilities maintenance with a record of success supervising and directing the work of others or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience. Must possess a valid Ohio driver’s license with an acceptable driving record.”
The job also requires a flexible schedule which will include evenings and weekends and possible travel in and out of Columbiana County. The parks director supervises the recreation supervisor, parks foreman, pool manager, lake supervisor and parks secretary.
The breakdown of responsibilities noted that the job is about 40 percent administration, 20 percent supervision, 20 percent recreation programming, 15 percent community relations and 5 percent miscellaneous.
During recent meetings about the changes happening, Panezott said there were a lot of details they had to figure out, such as whether the recreation supervisor duties will be folded into the parks director duties. Faber had been supervising the maintenance staff since the departure of former parks foreman Jim Grimm earlier this year, so they’ll need to decide how to handle that, too.
mgreier@salemnews.net