Cape holding job fair for mostly part-time Parks and Recreation positions

Cape Girardeau is looking for softball umpires, lifeguards and people who manage concession stands.

The city also needs temporary maintenance workers and laborers to work in the parks.

To fill those jobs -- 50 to 60 in all -- the city will hold a Parks and Recreation Department job fair from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. today at the Osage Community Centre, 1625 N. Kingshighway. The actual number of people employed for the mostly part-time positions will depend on how many hours each person hired can work, department director Dan Muser said.

Most jobs will pay the minimum wage, $7.25 an hour, but a few, such as softball umpires, are paid more because of specialized skills or lengthy service with the department, he said.

This year will be the first summer for the Cape Splash Family Aquatics Centre being built on the grounds adjoining the Osage Centre. The department needs concession and admissions workers for that facility. And the Jaycee Municipal Golf Course will be back in full operation this year after renovations supported by a half-cent sales tax and bond issue approved by voters in 2008. To fully staff the golf course, the department wants to hire a golf course marshal, a pro shop worker, a drink, concession and cart attendant and an assistant manager.

"For the aquatics portion, Cape Splash, we will hire more than we would at Capaha Pool or Central Pool in the summer, but we won't be operating Central Pool this summer so I don't know that the net numbers of part-time people will necessarily be more," Muser said.

Central Pool will get a new bubble cover and other upgrades this year, also thanks to the tax and bond issue.

There are some restrictions on who gets the jobs, Muser said. For example, life guards and softball umpires must meet certification requirements, while anyone who seeks a job operating equipment must be at least 18, he said.

A certified lifeguard may be as young as 15, Muser said.

Typically, pool and concession jobs are given to high school and college-age people, while some maintenance jobs are held by people who come back every year for summer work, Muser said.

With the new aquatic center and the return to service of the golf course, as well as continuing construction at other parks sites, Muser expects that total employment in the department will increase this year, especially later in the summer or early fall when the Shawnee Community Centre opens.

"There will be a net gain of some sort," Muser said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

1625 N. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, MO