All the Caledonia Parks Commission wants for Christmas is a parks director.
Two months after Matt Mathis resigned from the director’s position, the Parks Commission began advertising for a replacement on Thursday. The commission will advertise the position for 30 days, ending Nov. 24, and hopes to select a director before the end of the year.
Parks Commission chairman Lee Franks deferred comments on the search to commission attorney Corky Smith.
“We decided at our last (commission) meeting to go ahead and move forward with the search,” Smith said. “Lisa Mims has stepped in on a temporary position and she’s been doing a great job, but she took the job on the condition that she would only do it through the end of the year. We think the schedule we’ve put in place will give us time to find the right person for this important position.”
The parks director is the only regular paid position under the commission’s purview. The director is responsible for overseeing all park activities, including youth leagues and other events and maintenance at Ola J. Pickett Park. Although there are no set hours or schedule, one of the requirements for the job is that the director be on hand for 85 percent of park events.
Smith said there is no set salary and that the commission will determine the pay upon selecting a preferred candidate.
“When the parks commission was founded, it actually hired a parks director and an assistant, ” Smith said. “The parks director was paid $1,000 per month and the assistant was paid $500. Later, the assistant position was eliminated, so we’ll just be looking for one person, a parks director.”
The Parks Commission was established by the town’s Board of Aldermen in October 2017. Although funded by the aldermen, it is an autonomous body responsible for all parks operations, including employees.
Mayor Mitch Wiggins said he is pleased with how the commission has managed the parks department.
“It’s like anything new,” he said. “You have to tweak things as you get started. But I think overall, it’s worked pretty well. I can’t say I’ve always been 100 percent in agreement with every decision they’ve made, but I do know they all work hard and there is some real thought behind the decisions they make.”
The commission is now looking for its third director since its founding. The first director, Chris Clardy, said he was forced to resign in September 2018. Mathis, who was serving as assistant director at the time, was elevated to the director’s position and the assistant director position was eliminated.
Mathis resigned in August for personal reasons, Smith said.
For more information on the position or to pick up an application, candidates can visit the town hall or send an email inquiry the commission at [email protected].
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
READER FAVORITES
Related Photos
Corky Smith
