Renfrew Town Council made one important personnel move ahead of the summer break.
They approved the addition of four new full-time and one-term maintenance positions within the recreation operations department in order to fill the increased demand for upkeep of local facilities like the myFM Centre.
Councillor Clint McWhirter says the need to add is not a surprise after town staff research into the problem projects revealed a need for 120 more hours of manpower per week to make ends meet.
Councillor Andrew Dick agreed, but added that the problem runs deeper than just looking after the arena.
While the current staff are going above and beyond to do everything from maintaining, cleaning, and repairing local parks, facilities, and sports fields to helping with downtown beautification, Councillor Kyle Cybulski points out the need to prevent burnout.
The town’s recreation staff currently only have 40 staff hours per week of the 320 total to dedicate to tasks outside the care of facilities. Adding the five positions would cost the town $169,960 for the remainder of the year.
(written by Kasey Egan)
