Park Board Approves Part-Time Employee Raise And Use Of Rock Barn

Returning park department employees will see a salary increase following action taken at a meeting Wednesday of the Trenton Park Board.
The board voted to give all returning part-time employees a 25-cent per hour wage increase as has been done in the past. The increase will include the aquatic center manager and lifeguards, with Park Superintendent Jason Shuler indicating he has no returning part-time employees on the park department side. Board members agreed that allowing the raise is a benefit to the park department because it decreases the amount of retraining that has to be done each year.
In other action, the board approved a request from the North Central Missouri Fair Board to use the Rock Barn from March 26 through April 1. There will be no cost to the fair board for use of the facility for a fundraiser.
Shuler reported on current and completed projects, saying that the Trenton Street Department has installed a concrete catch basin and hauled additional black soil to fill over a new drainage tube at Moberly Park. Shuler said the entire project will cost around $20,000, which is right about what the estimate was.
Shuler thanked Trenton Municipal Utilities for assisting with the removal of the last two trees to be taken down at Eastside Park. He said almost all of the trees that needed to be removed at Moberly Park have been cut down, with the tree removal program allowing persons to use the wood for home heating being utilized. He is seeking bids for the removal of approximately 40 stumps. Shuler also told board members he purchased two new electric heaters for the enclosed shelter house at Moberly Park and said he will be opening the restroom facilities at the Ebbe Sports Complex and Burleigh Grimes Field as soon as the weather allows.
The board held a brief discussion on the 2018 budget, which is currently being developed and will go into effect May 1. Board President Duane Helmandollar asked members to let him know of any projects they want included in it so a cost estimate can be determined. One of the items that Shuler was asked to look into for inclusion in the budget is a pickleball court, with pickleball being an activity that several area residents have begun playing. The budget is expected to be approved at the next meeting, which is scheduled for Wednesday, April 4.