New positions added to Parks and Recreation Department

The city of Vestavia Hills has added three new positions in its Parks and Recreation Department, including a spot for a new top employee.

The new positions were discussed at the city’s strategic planning session in February, and three positions were approved along with the rest of the fiscal 2020 budget.

The first position to be hired will be a parks and recreation superintendent. Downes said the position should be filled by the end of 2019. The job will focus on growing and enhancing programs for senior adults, with a goal of recruiting more participants and managing new programming.

“We have some good people on staff who need just a little more help,” Downes said.

The next position will be a recreation leader who oversees aquatics part of the year, and then focuses on youth and adult programming the rest of the year. That position should be filled in January or February, Downes said. Currently, the city has someone working part-time with those programs, but the new position will help grow those programs and will be full-time.

The last position to be filled will be a parks and recreation superintendent who will oversee the entire parks and recreation programming. This person will manage the new community building when it is finished and will supervise others in the Parks and Recreation Department. That position is expected to be filled in the spring of 2020, Downes said. While the position will oversee others, the city has decided to wait on filling the position until after the community building is completed.

The salaries will fall within a range of salaries offered through the Jefferson County Personnel Board, Downes said.

The creation of the positions is an attempt to not settle for the status quo when it comes to parks and recreation programming, Downes said.

The city must focus not just on athletics, but on the “entire spectrum” of offerings that people who want to be involved with the department need, he said. With the city gaining more athletic space at ballfields in Cahaba Heights, the renovations at Wald Park and the new community building, there is a chance to greatly increase the city’s offerings, Downes said.

Some new programs have already been added, including a youth volleyball league and pickleball, which is popular among senior adults. More programs should be added in the coming months, Downes said.

The city has seen an increase in almost every sport, including flag football, soccer, baseball and lacrosse. Tackle football has seen a slight decline, but Downes says that’s more because of a cultural shift in attitude toward tackle football, not because of anything done on the part of the city.

In a small-to-midsized city such as Vestavia Hills, parks and recreation opportunities play a vital role in increasing the quality of life for residents, Downes said. Vestavia is always competing with surrounding neighborhoods for new residents, and amenities such as parks and recreation programs play a role in that, he said.

“While we are proud of where we are today, if we’re not careful, we can wake up five, 10, 20 years from now and not be in such a good situation, so we need to think in advance to address these quality of life issues,” Downes said.