Title
Public workshop to consider updates to the Monterey County Parks Volunteer Program.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Parks Commission:
a. Conduct a public workshop on the County Parks Volunteer Program.
b. Provide direction on policies and procedures regarding live-on residency rules and regulations, and strategies that can enhance the recruitment process.
SUMMARY:
The Parks Volunteer Live-On Program over the years has been an asset to Park operations. Many of the volunteers over the years have contributed immensely to the safe and coordinated efforts of various events county-wide, including cleanup and maintenance processes that take place during events held in the parks as well as maintenance and repair that they participate in during non-event times.
Volunteers are an integral part of the Buildings and Grounds Team. They work in most cases with Buildings and Grounds Staff and supervised by Buildings and Grounds Supervisors. Based on the Volunteer's expertise, they often work independently without direct supervision after they have been tasked with specific areas that need attention at each park.
Some of the proposed changes will be incremental due to the time needed for finalizing policy changes and possible re-writes. The goal to finalize this process is December 31, 2017. At that time, it is the hope of the RMA to have selected the Volunteer Coordinator.
DISCUSSION:
When RMA assumed management of County Parks, we found that policies were being implemented based on word of mouth. In many cases, staff charged to implement the policy did not have copies of the documents. When we inquired if there was a policy, it took some effort to find a copy of the policy. Once we did, we found that some of the policies have never been to the Board of Supervisors for approval and they were adopted a long time ago. RMA began an effort to locate all of the policies, review how they are being implemented, and bring each policy forw...
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