August Senior Staff Notes

MARYLAND PARK SERVICE

SENIOR STAFF MEETING NOTES

August 13, 2014

ATTENDEES: Nita Settina, Chris Bushman, Gary Burnett, Amanda Mock, Mike Riley, Daryl Anthony, Rob Dyke, Dana Paterra, Diane Feheley (next meeting’s manager-of-the-month – Southeastern Region)

MONTHLY REGIONAL / PROGRAM REPORTS

• Southeast
• Assisting new Harriet Tubman UGRR State Park Manager (Dana Paterra) with getting settled, touring the region, setting up visits to all Southeastern parks
• Central
• Contractor / DGS issues - Work is not up to expectations / requirements
• Settina to follow up with E&C (Loran), as this is an issue affecting many projects across the state
• Managers to send information on similar issues to Suydam
• REI donated $15,000 for trail signage at Patapsco
• West
• Tip jars at private concessions? – Yes
• Reminder – State employees are prohibited from accepting gratuities
• CDL license fee – can that be charged to the State credit card? – Yes.
• License renewal fee cannot
• Liability Loss Notice?
• To be submitted to MPS HQ (Linda Davis), who will submit it to FAS (Terry Kelsey), who will coordinate with the State Treasurer’s Office
• Not to be submitted directly to the State Treasurer’s Office
• Customer Satisfaction Survey
• Discussion of comments
• Please follow up as always with your managers

SUPERINTENDENT UPDATE

• Old Growth Forest Network
• Organization has been in contact with MPS Superintendent and we have agreed to register ONLY Wildlands areas, as we are not authorized to make guarantees that other areas will never be cut for any reason
• If contacted by the organization with requests to register State Park lands, managers are authorized to sign agreements for Wildlands ONLY
• Standardized Emergency Contact Information
• Poster created by Owens for use in all parks
• Mock to distribute final version
• Message from the Superintendent: We have had a busy summer, and we know that can be stressful. We appreciate your efforts to maintain your good humor and continue to provide the great customer service our visitors have come to expect.
• Make sure you have appropriate staffing for Labor Day weekend, and let us know of any issues.
• Camp Hosts
• Completed customer service training
• Mock and Myers working on guidelines to standardize as much as is possible and appropriate
• Will clarify / stress further that the role of the Camp Host is customer service and not voluntary compliance
• Guidelines to include standards for Camp Host sites (aesthetics, accoutrements)
• Regional Managers will work with their managers to apply the finalized guidelines and ensure that park-specific guidelines do not conflict with the revised statewide guidelines (April 2015 deadline)
• Employee Viewpoint Survey
• Next steps
• Analyze trends
• Identify key data points
• Distribute results to workforce
• Compare / analyze year-to-year results (November Managers Meeting)
• Solicit responses to one additional question:
• What is the one thing that you have always wanted to accomplish at your park / assigned work location that, due to whatever reason, you have never been able to complete?
• Regional Managers to collect responses prior to the November Managers Meeting
• Results of the 2013 Employee Viewpoint Survey were shared with DNR leadership, as many of the items require their assistance / support
• November Managers Meeting – New Germany
• Retain work day on first day
• New format – Field trips
• Veterans theme, wildlife theme, invasive species management, Deep Creek Lake, Youghiogheny hike, American Indian Heritage Month
• Coordinate ideas through Anthony
• Date change to avoid Veterans Day holiday on Tuesday, November 11?
• Wednesday, November 13 – Friday, November 15?

DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT UPDATE

• Park Closure Notification Procedures
• Additional changes made in the interest of further streamlining the procedures and encouraging more direct communication with local NRP field staff
• Feedback on policy change solicited from MPS Park Managers and NRP Commanders, resulting in final version
• Effective immediately (policy amendment already distributed by Bushman to MPS State Duty Officers and NRP Commanders):
• On the occasion of a park closing due to being full to capacity, and the subsequent reopening of the park, the Park Duty Officer shall notify: 1) the DNR Communications Center and request a local / area radio broadcast be made that the park is closed / reopened and; 2) the MPS State Duty Officer, who will compile a record of park closures and reopenings, and will transmit that information to MPS senior staff via the weekly State Duty Officer report
• Lateral transfer requests discussed and are being considered
• Outstanding Policy Issues? (standing item at senior staff meetings)
• Interest expressed by field staff to allow the wearing of the campaign hat with the work uniform (not casual uniform)
• Consistent with civilian NPS and other State Park agency personnel?
• If allowed, additional emphasis must be placed on condition and appearance of cargo pants, so as not to diminish the iconic image of the Ranger in the campaign hat
• Change being considered / more discussion to follow after soliciting additional feedback from field personnel

SUPPPORT SERVICES

• Follow-Up on Funding Study
• Proposed MPS Organizational Charts / Additional Positions
• Potential Long-Term Contractual employees for current fiscal year (FY2015)
• Plan for PIN requests for subsequent fiscal years

ADMINISTRATION

• MPS Recruitment Meeting
• Reinvigorating efforts to identify candidates with prior MPS experience
• Seasonal employees, MCC crew members, CJC crew members and staff
• Seeking ways to build database of potential candidates
• Mentoring efforts
• Working with HRS to review / revise application scoring process to recognize prior MPS experience
• Goal of transitioning current seasonal / contractual workforce to classified positions [Ranger (PSA) / Park Technician]
• As part of final evaluation / exit interview, park staff to ask seasonal / contractual employees (who they would recommend) about their interest in pursuing a career with the MPS
• Obtain good contact information for each (e.g. email)
• Hiring / Recruitment
• Provide Mock / Knisely with fall seasonal employee needs so they can work with HRS on JobAps recruitments
• Classified Recruitment
• Moving forward with positions for which we have HFEs
• Compiling documents necessary for Ranger (PSA) and Park Technician recruitments
• Will be following up with HRS Director regarding continued improvements / adjustments to JobAps
• Goucher Poll
• Participating in survey again this year
• Alternate questions