Council approves summer hiring for Parks and Rec

   After some discussion during the Feb. 20 Monticello City Council meeting, the council voted 5-1 to allow Parks and Recreation to hire up to three staff members for the summer months, at $15 an hour. Council member Brenda Hanken was opposed.

   During the Feb. 6 council meeting, the council also voted 5-1 to allow Public Works to hire summer help as well, a joint hiring with the Cemetery Department.

   The duties associated with the P&R summer help would include: Weeding downtown flower beds; weed whipping; removal of trash at parks; cleaning park shelters; watering trees, plants, flower beds; maintenance of public restrooms; and ball field maintenance and preparation.

   Work would not exceed 40 hours a week.

   "Do you normally hire that many?" Council member Candy Langerman asked of P&R Director Jacob Oswald.

   Now that P&R is taking over MYBSA, Oswald said those duties are a huge part as to why they need additional summer help.

   "We have not received any applications for our summer intern," he said.

   He said the busiest time over the summer will be May through July. During that timeframe, he said the field will need to be prepped daily, and parks will require routine maintenance.

   "Then it drops off," Oswald noted of programming.

   Right now, P&R baseball and softball programs have 32 teams registered.

   "Will their hours be limited?" asked Mayor Dave Goedken.

   "They will not exceed 40 hours," Oswald said. "Our goal is to have two (staff) at 32 to 40 hours, and one in the 20 to 30 range. But with the amount of field maintenance, we just don't know what the hours will look like."

   Goedken said in the past, P&R's hiring of additional staff was done without the council's approval.

In other city business:

   • The council set a public hearing for March 20 at 6 p.m. on the FY 2024 city budget.

   • The council approved an engagement letter with Dorsey & Whitney LLP as bond counsel for general obligation (GO) borrowing for certain projects.

   The city anticipates a $2.5 million GO Bond to assist with the Chestnut Street project, the Sixth Street Ditch project, and the painting of the south water tower.

   "These are projects that have been talked about for a long time and we've had no resolution," noted City Administrator Russ Farnum. "City staff would like to get these knocked out.

   Dorsey & Whitney's fees will not exceed $13,000 per hour.

   Goedken added that despite the cost of everything going up right now, the city plans to hold its debt service levy at the same rate as in the past.

   "We're using the same amount of money to do these projects," he said. "That's not sustainable for the city. Freezing our debt service levy is going backwards."

   The council also set a public hearing for March 6 at 6 p.m. on the proposed GO Bond loan agreement.

   • The council approved a $1,500 sewer credit against Carter Balentine's utility billing for property located at 418 E. First St.