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Attachment 1 M EMORANDUM Date:August 12, 2024 To:Pat Trudgeon, City Manager From:Matthew Johnson, Parks and Recreation Director RE:Proposal to Transition Part-TimeForestry Coordinator Position to Full-Time Forestry and Natural Resources Supervisor As we have previously discussedin preparation of the2025 budget, I am proposinga strategic adjustment within the Parks and Recreation Department by transitioning the current half-time Forestry Coordinator position(previously held for more than 20 years by an employee who retired thisspring)to a full-time Forestry and Natural Resources Supervisor. This change aligns with our ongoing commitment to maintaining and enhancing our City's green spaces, urban forests, and natural resourcesand will allow us to better serve the natural resources needs of the community. RATIONALE Increased Forestry Demands:Over the past decade, the more proactiveincluding treating heritage trees (both ash trees and select oaktrees) and proactively planting new trees.This approachis far more resource-heavy than response and removal. Additionally, the impacts of Emerald AshBorer ash with new trees has resulted in a younger and more at-risk urban forest. By 2025, the City will have more than 1,400 public trees that are less than three years old. These young trees will require significant watering, pruning, inspection, and replacement in the coming years. Finally, although most public ash tree removals are now complete, it is anticipated that hazard tree complaints due to failing private ash trees will impact the workload of the community forester for years to come. Increased Community Expectationsfor Natural Resources Work:Since 2014the City has undertaken an aggressive Natural Resources Renewal program. When the program began, no additional staff was provided to manage the program(although the Volunteer Managernow supports several volunteer functions), and the program hasbeen managedby the Parks Superintendent. The Parks Superintendentalso manages maintenance of the parks, park projects, and some park planning. As a consequence, the Natural Resources program is at (and possibly beyond) the ceiling of what it can reach with the current structure. Over the years, we have received many requestsfrom volunteer natural resources stewards to provide more staff to the program to allow for more volunteer events, better planning and organization, and better training for volunteers. Additionally, other volunteer programs such as adopt-a-park are not as successful as they could be given the staffing limitations. Qbhf!242!pg!417