Senior Staff Notes and Goucher Poll

MARYLAND PARK SERVICE

SENIOR STAFF MEETING NOTES

January 8, 2014

ATTENDEES: Nita Settina, Chris Bushman, Gary Burnett, Amanda Mock, Daryl Anthony, Mike Riley, Peyton Taylor, Mark Spurrier, Diane Feheley (next meeting’s manager-of-the-month – Central Region)

SUPERINTENDENT UPDATE

• Announcements
• Major Chuck Hecker (Ret.) is returning to DNR in a contractual position with HRS to serve as a Subject Matter Expert and assist with the recruitment and hiring process (applicant scoring, creation of eligibility lists, etc.)
• State of the State Parks presentation to Senate Budget & Taxation Committee – Tuesday, January 14
• Secretary Gill to present / MPS represented by Bushman / Mock / Burnett (Settina in WV at State Park Leadership School)
• Presentation requested by Senator Kasemeyer
• Patapsco Heritage Greenway representative will also testify
• Budget for FY15 will be introduced in General Assembly on January 15
• Park Technician ASR
• 10 PINs
• Additional funds for Harriet Tubman (~$100,000)
• NRP Seasonal Officers
• Additional funding for heavy equipment, seasonal hiring
• Capital Budget to be submitted to General Assembly on January 20
• Kudos to Park Managers and staff that led First Day Hikes (892 hikers)
• MPS was national coordinator (thanks to Barb Knisely and OCM)
• Mary Owens and Dan Hudson will provide a presentation on trails at the February senior staff meeting, and then meet with the Park Managers at the individual regional meetings
• Regional Managers will begin to stagger regional meetings to allow for attendance by others (e.g. Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent, HQ support staff)
• Property Acquisitions
• Will be focusing more on goal setting and planning for natural & cultural resources (Settina met w/ Park Advisory Commission members Mel Poole, Tim Casey and Ajax Eastman)
• e.g. American Indian heritage / landscape preservation
• Coordinate analysis w/ LAP (proactive approach vs. reactionary)
• Ties in with historic sites strategic plan
• Follow-up on Goucher Survey
• Possible focus groups
• Response to finding that natural history programs not as popular as expected
• MPS Interpretive Team to discuss at March meeting and propose a speaker for a  presentation at the Spring Managers meeting (NAI?)

• MPS Organizational Analysis
• Need to schedule meeting – Feheley to find date
• Employee Viewpoint Survey Follow-up
• Need to schedule meeting in February – Feheley to find date

DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT UPDATE

• Bushman requested NRP Capt. Ingerson to add Regional Managers to MEMA distribution list (e.g. storm-related information)
• State Duty Officers to submit request to MEMA to receive alerts
• MPS NRP Officer of the Year nominations
• Received three so far
• CAD System / Shift Report meeting with NRP still pending
• MPS Employee of the Month?
• Classified and long-term contractual employees eligible
• Regional Managers to present idea to managers – send feedback to Mock

PERSONNEL

• JobAps
• Will be submitting 26 recruitments consolidated by park groupings
• Not permitted to have open and continuous recruitment
• Recruitments will be posted in mid-January and be open for four weeks
• Managers will be able to review applications after two weeks and then again after approximately a week
• Mock and Knisely are preparing information on process to be sent to the managers
• Will include information to be shared with potential applicants
• Spreadsheet will be sent to each park to track status of all applicants, to determine whether certain recruitments need to be extended / re-opened
• Knisely to prepare summary of last year’s hiring
• Managers need to initiate recruitment ASAP to let potential applicants know that recruitment will begin soon and run for only four weeks (work with the DNR OC, social media, website, signage to get word out about applications)
• Succession Planning / Hiring
• Regional Managers to work with Mock / Knisely to establish interview panels for all of the recently posted recruitments
• Class change approvals received for Rocky Gap and Fair Hill managers – still need HFEs before we can begin recruiting

REGIONAL TOPICS

• Central
• Managed Hunts – Soldiers Delight, Seneca Creek, Fair Hill, Gunpowder Falls
• Make sure information is recorded for MHP funding
• Browning is the lead for all managed hunts

• Western
• Essential personnel
• Long-term contractual personnel can be designated as essential personnel if they are in the same classification as classified personnel who are designated as essential personnel
• Knisely submits annual list to HRS / DBM
• All MPS operational personnel are designated as essential (e.g. Rangers, Maintenance Supervisors, Park Technicians)
• Administrative and headquarters staff are generally not designated as essential personnel
• Fireworks for special events
• Can be permitted by MPS
• Need permits from Office of State Fire Marshall
• Conducted so as not to interfere with experience of other park visitors (e.g. within quiet hours)
• May need to consider internal review (debris / chemical residue issues)
• Southeast
• Employee Field Day – October 1, 2014 at Rosaryville
• Concessions Program
• Currently not allowed to retain / spend over our appropriation
• Funds limited due to MPS expansion of concession program
• Situation may improve with economy
• Uniform / Vehicle Appearance
• Still working to improve uniform to be more functional
• Supervisors are responsible to ensure that employees are adhering to MPS policy and presenting the proper image
• Replace uniform parts if worn

SUPPORT SERVICES

• Blind Industries / MCE
• Preferred providers of certain goods and services
• Must purchase from MCE if they offer a certain product
• Must purchase from Blind Industries if they offer a certain product and MCE does not
• May purchase elsewhere only if MCE and Blind Industries don’t offer a product
• Purchase green products whenever possible
• Information from FAS will be distributed to managers once received
• Spending Forecasts
• December actuals need to be submitted by January 13
• Regional Managers need to check your parks numbers
• Customer Satisfaction Survey
• Cabin codes posted on cabin doors
• Daryl to follow up with affected managers

Goucher Poll

Last July students from Goucher College conducted a Poll on resident perceptions of Maryland State Parks.

Click on the title below to see the results of this poll.

Resident Perceptions of Maryland State Parks:

An Analysis of Use, Activities, Goals, and Barriers to Visitation

As always comments and questions are welcome - click on the word "comments" below and the comments section will open.