WESTFIELD – Parks and Recreation Commissioner Kenneth Magarian hopes the commission and Mayor Daniel Knapik will give the department back a director while keeping the program manager.
Currently, James Blascak is trying to do both jobs. However, Magarian said there is too much for one person to handle.
“There is so much going on that Jim can’t get to it all,” said Magarian. “He has been acting director and a single person cannot do both jobs. He is doing very well, but we need that position back.”
The director position has been vacant for several years. The last director, Ann Marie E. Heiser, was not only the department director, but also headed the Council On Aging and Veterans Affairs department. When Heiser moved out of state, Program Manager Blascak assumed many of her duties.
Magarian said a commission subcommittee met this week to define the director position, as well as the program manager position.
The committee is sending the descriptions and a request to reinstate a separate director’s position, to the entire commission. If approved, it will be sent to Knapik.
Magarian said he hopes the position will be included in the upcoming budget.
“There is a lot going on in parks and recreation and new parks to deal with,” said Magarian. “We want to be able to substantiate why we need this position back.”
The subcommittee updated the job descriptions to coincide with today’s needs. Magarian said there is more of an emphasis on development and funding sources with all the new parks in the city.
“We are very hopeful the mayor will accept it and think it’s worthy enough to start to fund,” Magarian said.
