Council hears first reading to create Director of Grounds and Urban Forestry; executive session called on personnel

Council held the first reading of Ordinance 01-26 on Jan. 27, a proposal to create a new Department of Grounds and Urban Forestry and a director position to consolidate grounds maintenance functions now split between the parks/rec and service departments.

Sam Marcelino introduced the ordinance and asked Mayor Ben Kessler and staff to explain the history and rationale. The mayor said the proposal would bring grounds-management staff from the parks and service departments under a single director to "create a unified standard for care and maintenance," improve accountability and allow staff to prioritize resources more nimbly after events like storms.

The ordinance text presented included a $8,400 appropriation to cover the near-term personnel delta for the director position and a one-time $35,000 appropriation from the parks department for cross-training. Kessler said the personnel delta was expected to be offset over time by other personnel changes and that the $35,000 was a one-time cost for training.

Council members asked operational questions about equipment consolidation, how service quality would improve, and why the change was not included earlier in the budget. Andy Bayshore said some equipment would move to the service side and the change was timed to avoid last-minute budget disruption; the mayor said the council had directed timing be in the first quarter.

Because the ordinance involves appointment and compensation of a public employee, Councilmember Marcelino moved to enter executive session under section 2.23.03 to discuss employment matters and invite Service Director Andy Bayshore to join; the motion was seconded, taken by roll call and passed. The council later returned and resumed open session; no final vote on Ordinance 01-26 occurred at this meeting.