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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION – FEBRUARY 16, 2021 9 Interim Public Works Director Swearingen stated he would have to check with staff to see if these tasks had been completed but noted Jennifer was quite busy with other activities. Councilmember Holden reported 33% of this position was to be tasked to administration. She agreed that the City should have one full time person running Parks and Recreation and all other help should be summer help or interns. She explained if this became too much for staff, the City could cut back on the programming that was not well attended. Councilmember McClung agreed with the recommendation from the Personnel Committee. He also supported the City working cooperatively with neighboring cities for some programming. Councilmember Scott stated people move to Arden Hills because of the City’s parks and recreation opportunities. He believed it would be unwise for the public works receptionist to be taking on additional duties for the parks and recreation department. He recommended the City have two full time parks and recreation staff members. Mayor Grant reported the consensus of the Council was to support the recommendation of the Personnel Committee which was for one FTE and one seasonal employee. Councilmember Holmes commented on how the workload for parks employees differs between the summer and winter months. Mayor Grant reported the Personnel Committee recommended the temporary layoff of the recreation coordinator be permanent. Councilmember Holmes stated 80% of the parks and recreation programming was done by the recreation programmer. For this reason, the Personnel Committee was recommending the City keep the position of Recreation Programmer in place. Councilmember Holden explained this was correct. She agreed a lot of the programming could be further evaluated to see if the City should continue to offering all of its programming. She commented on the administrative costs it took to offer these programs to the City. Mayor Grant indicated the City Council would have to take a formal vote to eliminate the recreation coordinator position. City Administrator Perrault reported this was the case. Mayor Grant recommended this item be placed on the February 22nd City Council agenda. He also supported the Council reviewing the classes being offered by the parks and recreation department in order to scale back on classes that were not well attended. Councilmember Scott discussed how eliminating this position would impact the current staff member by increasing the overall workload.