Platte City is planning to hire a new director to oversee the city’s parks, which are a major draw for youth sports, adult volleyball, and outdoor recreation.
Platte City is home to six parks with day use sites that offer a variety of amenities like walking trails, a play area for the kids, basketball courts and nine-hole disk golf course.
Thanks to their location, Platte City parks are easily accessible and serve as a treasured stop for many residents.
An adult coed winter volleyball league, fall and winter soccer, 4th of July celebration and annual holiday lighting ceremony, are among the athletic programs and public events hosted by the Platte City Park and Recreation Department.
To ensure park visitors receive the best experience possible, city officials plan to hire a park director that possess the qualities and characteristics they are seeking. In a staff report written by D.J. Gehrt, city administrator, the ideal candidate should possess strong customer service skills, the ability to provide hands on experience with parks and facilities maintenance and have a general knowledge of public finance and budgeting. The director must also provide daily work schedules to park staff and consult with city officials with the development of overall policy.
Qualifying applicants must also have a high school diploma or GED and have five years parks and recreation experience.
The city plans to handle the employee recruitment internally to save money.
The city is also actively recruiting a new police chief to replace Carl Mitchell, who retired after a review of the department’s culture. Lynda Hacker-Bristow is currently serving as the interim police chief.
Gehrt said since the city cannot conduct both internal employee recruitments at the same time, the city may have to slightly delay the recruitment process for the park director position until it completes the internal recruitment process for the police chief vacancy.
The city anticipates spending less than $1,000 on media postings to conduct the broad search.
As applications come in, the park committee will review the qualifications of each candidate and interview eligible applicants, Gehrt said.
The starting salary range for the park director position is $49,289 to $70,853.
The position’s primary responsibilities are providing strong leadership and training to city staff, setting up work procedures for efficient operations, and preparing studies for decision-making purposes.
Dannie Stamper, previous park director, was let go last fall. Stamper had served as director for approximately 15 years.