Panel hears agencies’ job-addition requests
Adding job positions was the topic of the day during the city’s Administration Committee meeting on Tuesday afternoon — one for the Parks and Recreation Department and the other for the Inspection and Zoning Department.
Parks and Recreation Director Samuel Glover told the committee that he is needing a recreation golf superintendent sports field manager to maintain the city’s Jaycee Golf Course and Pine Bluff’s 14 ground sports facilities.
Having a golf superintendent is very important because that person specializes in both fertilizing and using chemicals on a course, as well as maintaining the greens, Glover said.
“We’ve made some great strides to maintain the golf course,” said Glover. “We have one of the only public golf courses in the state of Arkansas, and it’s an asset to the city, so we need this position to carry on the vision to make this a better quality and amenity to our citizens.”
According to Glover, the superintendent would be responsible for supervising all of the golf employees — including two full-time employees who main
tain the grounds, two parttime employees who assist, and a permanent part-time position acting as the golf pro.
“At a golf course, you will have a golf pro,” said Glover. “That person is like the marshal of the golf course.”
The golf pro’s position, which is currently filled with an acting part-time worker, maintains the office, the finances, all of the paperwork and the memberships, and makes sure people are not destroying the course, Glover said.
According to Glover, the golf superintendent would supervise the golf pro.
Glover said the golf superintendent would have other duties assigned, such as serving as a sports field manager to the 14 facilities and possibly two more — a little league football field and a soccer field.
“Those fields require both maintenance and a fertilizer chemical program as well,” said Glover. “If you want to have tournaments and things of that nature and be able to attract the state tournaments, regional, and even the world series to Pine Bluff, you need that maintained in a meticulous and structured manner. It needs to be on a program just like the golf course does.”
Glover said the position is very important if the city wants to maximize the amenities that it has available for sports.
A salary range of $41,986.80 to $47,719.30 has been requested by Glover, which he says he currently has the funding for, but Mayor Shirley Washington said the candidate for the position is requesting more money.
“He is not wanting to come in at the max we can offer,” said Washington, who added that the candidate is requesting $40,000 plus benefits, putting the pay at approximately $54,000. “That will bring him in over what our other employees are making.”
Washington said she believes what was offered to the candidate was the maximum amount the city could afford, but she said the ultimate decision would be up to the City Council.
“It’s going to be up to the council, if he doesn’t want to come in at that, whether to move forward,” said Washington, who said she believed the golf course has the potential to bring in revenue if the fees are increased.
“It is getting very good traffic, but the fees are so low,” she said. “The lowest you’ll find anywhere in the state, and for that reason, we’re not really making money.”
A motion to send the proposed position to the full council, with a salary of $47,719.30 that includes benefits, was approved.
Also requesting a position was Mitzi Ruth, Inspection and Zoning Department director.
According to Ruth, she is needing a second full-time secretary in her office.
She currently has one full-time secretary and one part-time secretary, but she said it’s hard for her to do her job when both secretaries are not there.
“We have to have specific training for several permits,” said Ruth, who has made a request to fill this position to the committee in the past. “Normally, when we do solicit a floater, they need to come in and get some training, at least a couple of weeks to learn the process. It’s hard to even keep a floater.”
Ruth said she has only $20,493 budgeted for the full-time position that would replace the part-time secretary position. She is requesting a position salary of $26,624.
A motion was approved to send her request to the full council with a “do pass.”
The golf pro’s position, which is currently filled with an acting part-time worker, maintains the office, the finances, all of the paperwork and the memberships, and makes sure people are not destroying the course, Glover said.