Assistant director's departure may mean park post realignment

Friday, May 2, 2014

Just as every cloud has a silver lining and the notion that when fate closes a door, it opens a window, the Greencastle Park Board preferred to look to the future, not the past, Thursday night.

While sad to see Assistant Park Director Troy Scott leave the department to pursue a position in the private sector, the Park Board and Park Director Rod Weinschenk will try to turn a negative into a potential positive by using the development to create a new position within the City Park Department.

Noting that Scott has taken a position with Jedele Enterprises, owners of the Greencastle and Cloverdale McDonald's and five others in central Indiana, Weinschenk said his departure "leaves a hole in the Parks and Recreation Department that will be hard to fill."

While Scott's emphasis was on recreational program development and public relations in addition to his myriad of other park duties, efforts of his successor will be refocused as an aquatics director/assistant director.

That was the suggestion of Weinschenk at the May meeting of the Park Board Thursday night at City Hall.

The board showed its agreement with that move by approving a job description for an aquatics director/assistant director, who will perform all duties necessary for the efficient operation of the Greencastle Aquatics Center and the Bob York Memorial Splash Park scheduled to be built this season.

The job description also calls for the new hire to take on the "development, planning, coordination and evaluation of year-round recreational, cultural, social, fitness, seasonal aquatic programs," as well as performing maintenance and other duties as necessary in the operation of the Park Department.

Weinschenk noted that the person sought would have to be a "jack of all trades," also assisting the park maintenance supervisor and helping run the varied department's recreation programs.

But the key involvement would be responsibility for water-quality and other issues at the park pool and the new splash park. Freeing Weinschenk from those duties will allow him to concentrate on other aspects of park and department supervision, he told the board.

Weinschenk said he will advertise the position locally as well as in Indianapolis, Terre Haute and Bloomington with an eye toward attracting a recent college graduate with a recreation degree.

He said the city salary ordinance would accommodate a salary in the $26,000-$29,000 range for the new position.

The board unanimously approved the job description on a motion by Cathy Merrell and affirmative votes from Tim Trigg, Beva Miller and John Hennette.

In another personnel matter, the Park Board also approved a job description for a seasonal recreation program supervisor to oversee seasonal programs like SPARK, the Police Boot Camp program, summer tennis events and other activities for youth, adult and senior citizen participants.

The seasonal position, to be paid at $10 an hour, will end after July.

Meanwhile, a partial list of summer help, including the aquatics center staff and summer park maintenance workers, was also approved by the board.

Ellie Boyle will return as city pool manager with Melissa Ball and Sarah Beams as assistant manager and Elliott Dunbar as head lifeguard.

Paul Bryan will manage pool and softball concessions with a staff that will include Joey Field, Ben Wilson and Bailey Lausee.

Approved to do summer maintenance are Shea Arnold, Tyler Hudson, John McCammack, Hunter Smith and Zach Secrest.

Listed as lifeguard staff are Isaac Harms, Abigail Toole, Brockman Guinee, Ryan Raupp, Jacob Hendershot, Sydney Cassida, Katie Kiste, Sydney Secrest, Mitchell Johnson, Jason Ummel, Lauren Bridgewater, Levi Lewis, Nathan Gardner, Amelia Smith, Corrie Romer, Megan Holtom, Jacob Kessler, Lauren Harris and Lindsey Bridgewater.

Hired to work the front desk at the aquatics center this summer were Logan Wood, Ruth Heithaus, Eli Secrest, Hannah Brattain, Bailey Lausee and (sub) Elise Merrell.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: