By Lee Weyhrich
PINSON — The Pinson City Council last week approved the park director position for the future city park.
The resolution also outlines additional duties, including the management of other city properties, including Pinson Valley Youth Association and Palmerdale Homesteads Community Center, as well as other properties.
“This is authorizing the mayor to seek a park director and hire one that is obviously going to be overseeing our new park that is being built, and that will (probably) open in May,” Councilman Joe Cochran said.
The director will also be responsible for maintenance, scheduling and preparing properties for events, and other duties.
The resolution requires that the candidate have a college degree in parks and recreation, physical education, park management or a related field, 10 years of experience, and must pass a background check. The base salary is set at $40,000 to $60,000 based on experience.
The original plan was for the park director to be a live-in position, with the director living in the old farm house that was pre-existing on the grounds of the new park.
Though Mayor Hoyt Sanders wanted the house repaired and preserved, the rest of the council believed the work needed to make the house livable was too extensive, and the cost too prohibitive. Council members Dawn Tanner, John Churchwell and Cochran all voted to have the house torn down, with the mayor having the only dissenting vote.
No mention was made as to whether the park director position would still be a live-in position.
In other news, Cochran presented the final stage of city trash pickup. The council accepted the bid of Advanced Disposal for residential trash pickup within the city. Advanced Disposal is already the current provider to most people in the Pinson area, under the pre-existing county contract.
The council accepted all alternates, including recycling, small bulk waste, debris pickup and two carts. Depending on what plan residents currently have, they can expect to save anywhere from $3 to $15 on their service.
“Any way you shake it, it’s three times the service for less money than you’re paying today,” Cochran said.
On a related note, the council is accepting bids for on-call debris pickup. This pickup is only for large-scale debris as needed. The city currently uses Call A Haul for this service, but opens the bidding up on a yearly basis.
The council also authorized Sanders to look into a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant that would build storm shelters at city fire stations. If the grant is approved, the council will be required to provide 20 percent matching funds. The grant also allows for in-kind commitments. Sanders believes that Station No. 2 might qualify for 100 percent coverage due to the city’s ownership of the land housing the station.