July 10, 2023 |
Photo – Rawlins Cemetery – Bigfoot99 file photo
The Rawlins City Council continued to explore ways to backfill the lack of seasonal workers in the parks department this summer.
The Rawlins Parks and Recreation Department is suffering from a lack of summer help. Speaking to the governing body last week, Parks and Rec Director Jason Sehon said his department needs seasonal workers to handle landscaping duties. Sehon said his full-time staff is better used for handling water main ruptures and other technical problems.
With his staff stretched thin, Sehon said he has been unable to give the city’s cemetery the attention it needs. Councilman Darril Garner asked Sehon if he could pull staff from the Rochelle Ranch Golf Course to water and mow the graveyard. Sehon said his parks crews and golf course crews are cross-trained. He said the golf course is also short-staffed.
Sehon said mowing and trimming the cemetery requires two and a half days of work. However, the parks and rec director said the biggest problem he faces is watering the cemetery. Sehon said staff need to manually turn on two valves every time they water the cemetery. He said the lack of an automated system makes the job take a very long time.
Sehon said he found a system that will allow parks staff to remotely control the water valves. He said it would cost around $40,000 to install the automated system. The parks director said even with the automatic watering in place, the cemetery would still require a lot of time to properly maintain.
Sehon said he does not have enough money in his department’s budget to pay for the automated watering system this year. He told council that he hopes he can purchase it next year.
Sehon said he is so desperate for help that he has recruited the city’s shooting range supervisor, Steve Wilkins, to work at the cemetery during his down time. Councilman Garner asked Sehon if he could make up for the lack of seasonal help by using contractors. The parks director said that would cost too much money.
Councilwoman Tonya Lewman asked if the city had a program where people could choose to do public service instead of paying a fine for a criminal offense. Sehon said he liked the idea, but wasn’t sure if the program existed in Rawlins.
Councilman Chris Weisenburg asked if the city’s public works department would be able to take over maintenance duties at the cemetery. Interim City Manager Tom Sarvey said they also lack the staff to take on more projects.
Sehon said last month’s press release about needing seasonal workers was to let residents know what’s going on in his department. The parks director said he is doing what he can to maintain the city’s green spaces.
To apply for one of the vacant season worker positions, go to www.rawlinswy.gov/jobs. Applicants must be over the age of 18 since they’ll be handling power equipment.
