Business Agenda Item 5c
STAFF REPORT
Business Agenda Item
DATE: October 5, 2026
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Kaylyn Stainbrook, Parks & Recreation Director
SUBJECT: Hiring Freeze Exception for Full-Time Recreation Program Supervisor STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approve an exception to the current hiring freeze to allow recruitment and appointment of the Full-Time Recreation Program Supervisor position.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The Recreation Program Supervisor position will become vacant on October 9, leaving the Department without the position responsible for day-to-day supervision and coordination of its recreation workforce and programs.
The Recreation Program Supervisor is an experienced-level position that works under the general direction of the Parks and Recreation Director to plan, direct, create, promote, and conduct recreation programs with minimal guidance and substantial independent judgment.
The position directly supervises 22 predominantly part-time and seasonal employees and is responsible for their hiring, onboarding, training, evaluation, and ongoing support. Because many employees balance school, outside employment, and other obligations, maintaining adequate coverage requires continuous collection of availability, preparation of weekly schedules, and adjustment of shifts. These responsibilities require consistent supervision and cannot easily be absorbed by other staff on an intermittent basis.
The responsibilities documented for this position extend across every major recreation program and require a high level of accuracy, organization, and sustained time commitment. The Recreation Program Supervisor oversees year-round and seasonal services including public roller skating, private roller-skating parties, summer and school-break camps, Hot Shots youth basketball, men’s and women’s basketball leagues, men’s and women’s softball leagues, coed softball league, dropin activities, and plans, coordinates, and executes community events such as the Annual Spook-AThon and Annual Forest Moon Festival. Several of these programs, including Hot Shots youth basketball and adult sports leagues, are the only programs of their kind offered in the Eel River Valley. Additionally, Parks and Recreation’s Summer Fun program operates throughout the Fortuna Elementary School District’s entire summer break. School-sponsored camps have historically excluded the first and last couple of weeks of the break, creating a childcare gap that Summer Fun helps fill for local families.
Each program requires substantial advance work to create, plan, coordinate, promote, staff, and execute, followed by evaluation and cost analysis. The Supervisor develops schedules and operating materials; conducts coach and staff meetings; coordinates equipment, supplies, officials, vendors, and City-owned and external facility use. Because programs operate during evenings, Business Agenda Item 5c
weekends, holidays, and school breaks, the position also responds to after-hours callouts and timesensitive operational issues. The Supervisor additionally builds and monitors CivicRec activities; manages participant changes, refunds, payments, rosters, eligibility, waivers, incident reports, and behavioral records; and maintains detailed childcare subsidy records and supporting documentation. Errors or delays can directly affect participant eligibility, family accounts, program revenue, staffing coverage, safety compliance, facility access, and continuity of service.
Leaving this position vacant would transfer its supervisory and administrative duties—and the extensive hands-on work required to develop and deliver recreation programs—to the Parks and Recreation Director and remaining staff. This workload cannot be covered through occasional oversight; it requires continuous planning, detailed coordination, staff and coach/volunteer communication, facility scheduling, evening and weekend availability, and timely response to operational issues. At the same time, the Director is transitioning River Lodge to a new operator, moving transit to new software and opening the service to the general public, addressing the loss of an Office Assistant, and training a new Administrative Assistant. Absorbing direct supervision of 22 recreation employees, their complex coverage needs, and the daily and after-hours execution of multiple programs and events is not sustainable. Delayed recruitment would create a substantial risk of inadequate staff coverage, missed administrative and subsidy requirements, facility or scheduling conflicts, reduced program quality, delayed public communication, and interruption or cancellation of recreation services. Recruitment is necessary to maintain responsible supervision, financial and regulatory accuracy, safe operations, and reliable community service.
STRATEGIC PLAN 2026-2036:
This action supports the following area(s) of your City Council’s Strategic Plan 2026-2036:
CORE VALUES:
Quality of Life: Family, Nature & Neighbors
Community Connection & Care
Community Character
Committed Service
PRIORITIES:
Priority 1: Clarity, Culture & Capacity for Organizational Health Priority 2: Our People — Staff Retention, Pay & Succession Priority 8: Youth, Recreation & Community Life
FISCAL IMPACT:
No additional appropriation is required at this time. The Recreation Program Supervisor is an existing, budgeted position that is funded by Measure E. This request does not create a new position or increase authorized staffing levels.
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
Denying the exception – Not recommended. This would leave the Recreation Program Supervisor position vacant and transfer supervision of 22 recreation employees to the Parks and Recreation Director, increasing the Director’s total number of direct reports from 18 to 40.
Business Agenda Item 5c
Given the Department’s concurrent River Lodge and transit transitions, office staffing loss, and administrative training responsibilities, this approach is not sustainable. It would increase the risk of inadequate staffing, documentation errors, and reduced program quality across high-demand services such as Summer Fun, School-break camps, youth basketball, adult sports, and rollerskating programs. Depending on available planning capacity and staffing coverage, programs could be delayed, reduced, or cancelled.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
1. Receive staff presentation and review Council questions
2. Open and close Public Comment
3. Motion to approve an exception to the hiring freeze for the Full-Time Recreation Program Supervisor position. Roll call vote.