Memorial Hall Staffing.

Members of the Public Services Committee heard a recommendation from City Administrator Tom Short that a supervisory staff position be created to oversee operations at Memorial Hall. Short first broached the idea at a Budget Committee meeting and brought the idea to Public Services at their meeting last Monday because of their oversight role in Memorial Hall operations.

Short cited current personnel shortfalls at the Hall and recommendations of the Memorial Hall Long Range Planning Committee as two reasons for pursuing the idea at this time.

"During our long range planning, we had always talked about the possibility of hiring additional staff...to oversee the operations of the Hall, to help promote it more, do all the marketing and possibly go into some other areas," said Short. "I would like to see if we could start that process now. Hire somebody at basically a supervisor level who would be housed at the Hall."

Short said such an employee would book all events, coordinate the staff, take care of deposits and other monies at the Hall, keep track of key distribution, maintain all inventories, schedule employees to insure adequate staff coverage at all events and any other oversight duties necessary. In addition, this person would oversee the Civil War Museum operations.

Currently, bookings for Memorial Hall are handled by the assistant in Short’s office, but she is out of the office on an extended injury leave. There are two full-time and one part-time maintenance positions at Memorial Hall, but staff turnover and medical problems have left the Hall understaffed.

"We talked during long range planning about how the building is deteriorating because there’s really noone down there telling the employees what to do," said Short. "If there were somebody down there actually supervising them daily, they could be doing some more proactive things maintenance-wise, patching holes and painting as opposed to just cleaning up after an event."

According to Short, should the Memorial Hall renovations go forward, this supervisory position would remain in place and an additional staff position would be created to handle the marketing and promotion of the Hall. The supervisor would then report to that person. Until that time, the supervisor would report to Short.

"I have no objection to creating a new position," said Committee Member Jackie Boyer. "Personnel is the most expensive thing we can do, but I think we can get a better return on that building. And if you improve the return $15,000, you’ve paid more than half the additional cost."

Short will present a detailed job description and recommend a salary level at the next Public Services meeting. He is looking at a salary range of $20,000 to $25,000.

Just Jake Talkin'
Mornin',

A typical phone call at the office:

"Hello"

"Hello, this is Maria from the psychic benevolent support group for the organization of united brotherhood of unicorn revivalists."

"That's amazing," I respond, "I was just thinking of your work."

"We have been receiving mental inquiries from your office and are calling to open the channels of telepathy for your convenience and contribution to our cause."

"That's unreal," I continue, "I'm sitting here with $10,000 burning a hole in my pocket and was just wondering' where I could spend it. I'm elated that you took the time out of your busy day just to contact me."

"This is a recorded message," I hear. "For more information press pound."

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin'.

by

Workman's Loan

The Super Handyman

Stirring paint is an important chore that can be messy if you are not careful. Many people prefer to save time by using a power-drill attachment to stir the paint. Most such accessories do a great job, but a misstep can sling paint over half the neighborhood.

Before installing the drill attachment, make a hole in a paper plate and slip the stirrer through the hole. When the mixer attachment is in the drill and ready to stir, hold the paper plate over the top of the can and then turn on the drill. The plate should catch and paint that might have splashed out.

SAFETY TIP: Don't use a power drill to stir flammable coating, because a spark from the drill could cause a fire.

Dear Al: We have a washer and dryer in a closet that is in the hall outside our dining room. I guess it seemed like a good idea when the house was built, but it is loud. There seemed to be no time when it was convenient to run the washer that it wasn't annoying.

I had my husband help me slide a large remnant of rubber-backed carpet under the two units, and then I weather-stripped the closet doors. It is amazing what a difference it has made. Sometimes, I even have to open the doors to check to see if the clothes are done.

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