The Parkville Board of Aldermen approved the hiring of Brittanie Propes as the city’s first ever parks and recreation director.
Following a national recruitment, Propes was chosen from a pool of qualified applicants completing an interview process with city staff and elected and appointed officials.
Propes brings more than 12 years of experience in parks and recreation-related work. She received her bachelor’s degree from Park University. Her career includes time with Lillian James Creative, the City of Excelsior Springs and the YMCA of Greater Kansas City.
Propes has most recently served as the City of Smithville’s recreation and marketing manager before accepting the position with Parkville.
In addition to her college achievement, Propes is a certified parks and recreation professional, certified youth sports administrator and is certified in national parks and recreation association communications, as well as in first aid/CPR/AED.
The city received 21 applications from which 10 were asked to provide supplemental information. The pool was narrowed down to six candidates who participated in Zoom interviews with elected and appointed officials, as well as senior leadership.
Ultimately, the list was narrowed to four candidates for on-site interviews, along with a tour led by park staff.
The parks and recreation director is a new position requested by the aldermen to focus on park-related projects. With the voter-approved park sales tax, the number of park projects has increased and the city determined a director was necessary to oversee those projects, as well as look to the future of park services, recreation and ongoing maintenance. Maintenance of the city’s parks system is of extreme importance to citizens and visitors of Parkville, city officials say.
The parks division was previously overseen by the public works director, who also oversees streets, sewers, stormwater and public works.
City Administrator Alexa Barton said: “Adding a parks and recreation director is very exciting for Parkville and we are thrilled to have Brittanie join our team. It was amazing the quality of candidates we received who wanted to make Parkville their next work home. We are so fortunate that Brittanie, a Park University alumni, has lived in Parkville and is very familiar with our parks and our community.”
Barton went on to share, “Separating parks and recreation from public works absolutely makes sense. When people think of Parkville, they see a quaint community with so much to offer. For our citizens who call Parkville home they are aware we are a community that may appear small yet we have large city projects and responsibilities. Having leadership to address these important areas of our city will only make us better.”
Propes will begin employment with the City of Parkville on Aug. 15.