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Missouri State Park System
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Staff Input

The following ideas were gathered during the Joseph Jaeger Academy.

Staff Expansion and Training  |  Funding  |  Facilities and Land Acquisition  |  Diversity
Programs and Events  |  Marketing and Promotions  |  Miscellaneous

Staff Expansion and Training

Each vacancy should be examined to see if it should be filled with a full-time employee (FTE), seasonal or possibly a volunteer.

When filling FTE positions, they need to be trained and instructed to make decisions based on policy and established approved procedures. To help ensure that this will happen in some key management and administrative positions, new employees in these positions need to attend a division-oriented week-long training session (Whys and Hows in State Parks).

Our hiring/merit system is the biggest threat to recruiting quality candidates for our job openings and therefore the biggest threat to Division of State Parks (DSP). We need meaningful job descriptions posted for these positions. We need to post PDFs with ALL job postings and provide written copies of PDFs at all interviews. We have got to do something to accurately describe our job openings. We all know that the merit position descriptions are almost useless (to the point of civil liability) due to the range of positions that fall under the few generic job titles. Imagine yourself as an aspiring DSP employee with no info on how DSP is organized (no organization charts available on the park/site level) and you have no idea what merit application even to fill out! I have been ridiculed by several DSP managers as being a “greeny,” meaning that I like to approach projects with environmental sensitivity. I was very surprised to find that so many DSP employees see their employment as just a job -- not a means to showcase awareness or ingenuity.

I think that interpreters are a vital part of the DSP team. However, many of our interpreters are also charged with biological duties such as habitat management or monitoring. Many of our interpreters have little or no training in these fields, which are elemental to our mission. I doubt that any of them have formal training in both biology and teaching. This leads to several complex issues, but my main point is that both missions, resource management and interpretation, may be compromised. There is no perfect canoe for all waters -- you choose one for the water ahead -- meaning that both fields are very important and one person cannot do both as well as they should be done.

I suggest posting a full time dedicated biologist or resource scientist in each district to alleviate and advise interpreters in their resource work. Preserving our best examples is busy work and keeps our central office resource managers (and I say that in the literal meaning of natural resource manager, not Office of Administration's all-encompassing job title) very busy. Yet part of our policy requires also the rehabilitation of damaged lands. That said, I know that we must do the best with the time and budget we have. I feel that DSP has placed too little emphasis on our ever-dwindling biological systems and too much on customer service.

I think that our training programs are excellent. I would like to see an in-depth training on money from bill paying to budget.

I feel it is very important that Native Americans are involved in the actual interpretation of the site. An American Indian on staff is needed at the new cultural center to help promote understanding of their culture and better reflect the purpose of the center. In order to attract qualified and trained staff, I propose we develop an internship program with recognized higher learning institutions for American Indians.

Is the present staff numbers sufficient enough to provide the quality of parks and historic sites that our visitors have become accustom to? Can the present staff be trained to handle not only the pressure of everyday task but also the changes in environment and technology of the next 100 years? Is the present number of staff trained and efficient enough to continue the present quality into the future?

I have had the opportunity to work in every district in the park system and have observed many different parks and historic sites. In visiting with park staff, from trained seasonal laborers to district supervisors, it has been related that there is a need for more training. I believe that an emphasis must be put on training. It is my opinion that asking staff what they need is not always the best policy. I think mandatory training is best. This is but one example. If we have staff who can fix this type of equipment then the savings would be worth time and money spent on training. More seasonal help would also help to improve the efficiency of the staff.

I think that morale of the staff is fairly low. Never having proper tools and equipment to efficiently perform even routine tasks contributes to unnecessary pressure for staff. If you add the fact that we can never count on any type of monetary raise you have the necessary ingredients for low morale. If we want to retain the excellent staff that we currently have and ask them to continue into the next 100 years, we need to work on staff morale issues. Perhaps incorporate a more efficient funding and budget process and implementing a structured pay system where staff would get increases based on performance, training and longevity.

While I am by no means a veteran employee, I have worked at a few parks now. As anyone in our system will agree, each facility is very different, as are the needs for staffing. While each park has specific needs to be met, some positions are more prone to be training positions than others. While virtually any position can be used as a stepping stone for further advancement in the department, certain positions have been "earmarked" to provide special/unique opportunities so that the employee is put in a position to advance. The park specialist positions are the obvious examples but occasionally a few distinct interpretive positions provide another example of this. Often these are positions at a smaller facility where the entire staff is forced to help out with duties outside of their typical job description. Sometimes these are positions at a medium to large size facility where the public contact and other administrative responsibilities allow the employee to grow.

Positions that are vacated through attrition, transfer or other forms should be re-evaluated on a case-by-case situation as to the immediate needs of the facility as well as the needs of the park system. While there seems to be a push to bring in and train more park specialist positions quickly to meet the expected demand of facility manager turnover in the near future, many other needs are going to the wayside (i.e. interpretation, maintenance). While the need for qualified managers cannot be disregarded, perhaps it is possible to meet these needs while also providing the other responsibilities vital to our park system. Providing advancement opportunities to other "earmarked" positions will also create many more qualified candidates for management positions as they come open.

Training should be tailored to the individual and site. This should (can) be done so that training can be taken without supervisory interference. Employees don’t see the training scheduled in a timely manner to do what is necessary to get in to the classes that are offered. (Employees are not allowed access to e-mail or supervision has decided that the employees don’t need/deserve the training. This is widespread throughout the system.)

Why is training only limited to what I do now (more supervisory intervention)?

Why is training denied that will advance/enhance my job status, personal worth, or upward mobility? Why is it not allowed to continue with the experience/education that got me the job? (Why do you send me to school, buy me books and then not allowed to use it?)

Some supervisors are afraid that if their employees receive training they will either leave or will try to take the supervisor’s job or they will find out that they should not be treated the way that they are being treated.

Funding

Voluntary Katy Trail patch or sticker: sell it for $10 or more; use money for trail maintenance

Check into leasing out some of our buildings that can be used by the private sector. Their use would need to stay within our mission statement. An example would be the leasing of the Katy Depot building in Sedalia by the Chamber of Commerce. This may only be practical at a very few sites.

Many health problems are becoming associated with sedentary lifestyles. The Missouri Department of Health had representatives at the Missouri Trail Summit trying to explore options on exercise for citizens. Perhaps we can use more of a health angle, physical and mental, to partner or secure more funding.

The Department of Conservation (MDC) has campaigned in recent years to expand their urban outreach. The Division of State Parks (DSP) has some information posted in MDC nature centers, but I think that we could do more to improve our public image and outreach to the public through a more intensive partnering with MDC at these nature centers.

Overcrowding is not a problem in most parks. It can be a big problem at some parks. Perhaps a limited user fee could be used to control some of the traffic. Our current user fees are very acceptable. We are often much cheaper than private campgrounds. Perhaps we should consider awarding discounts or off-season prices only to Missouri citizens?

As more parks move toward county water/sewer, a small portion of the accompanying regulatory workload is diminished. And in light of the success of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Ombudsman program, is there anyway to use our environmental crew to introduce various Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ) employees to the “real world” of environmental regulation? If we can persuade DEQ to fund our DSP environmental program, we can provide real-life valuable training to DEQ, allowing DEQ employees to see regulation from the “regulated side of the fence.” I think that the benefits from such a partnership would be great for DEQ and DSP (and would save us a bundle!).

Budget issues are always under a critical scope as they should be. We must continue to promote out tax-based funding by providing a wonderful product. Funding and budget decisions will never be easy with an economy-based tax.

Dry Camping -- Used for overflow after 9 p.m., one-night use only, would need to identify specific parks capable of managing this opportunity

Geocaching -- Develop starter kits and training program for the public -- more of a regular basis

Nonresidents Camping Fee -- Minnesota, Wisconsin and Wyoming charge an additional fee for nonresidents -- we believed a minimal amount of $2.

Camper Cabins -- Next level - Long-time rentals and more camper cabins., i.e. could we consider timeshare.

Donations on capital improvement projects, less than $50,000 -- list of projects would be on a Web site by park.

Missouri State Park Camping Club -- similar to Good Sam Club only better, this would be an intern project

Planting a Seed for the Future -- Memorial bricks, etc., have always been successful endeavors, various levels, gold, silver and bronze levels of donating

Development of RV Parks

Development of Signature Parks, i.e. Table Rock, Bennett Spring

Group Camps -- expand the use and/or concession some of these facilities - this is a missed opportunity

Long-term use of Campgrounds/Cabins during the off-season

Park partnerships with large corporations

E-Z Concession Contract -- contract has been approved, need to execute some contracts for 2007.

Gift cards and phone cards

Historic Sites -- Retail, Retail, Retail

When I think of funding, I also think of other ways that we can operate our facilities. One that comes to mind is the growing popularity of partnerships throughout the country among nonprofits as well as the private sector. We recently partnered with he University of Missouri Extensions Master Gardeners program to plan, plant, and maintain the heirloom kitchen garden component of the living history farm program. This is a win-win situation for both us and the organization. Partnerships with schools, civic groups, etc. may need to be explored to continue to provide quality programming and minimize operation costs for interpretive programming.

This will be a tough sell but I feel we need to re-evaluate the need for on-site housing at each facility. Although in some areas it is a necessity (Urban areas where cost of living prohibits finding suitable housing with salary allotted, extremely rural areas with virtually no available housing), many of our parks are in a reasonable distance from decent living opportunities. The almost "hidden" cost of utilities and upkeep with virtually no return is a huge financial burden to our system. I don't know, but would believe that the rent charged to the tenants does not recover a great deal of the cost. From my stand point, I also feel these dwellings get lower priority for upkeep since it's hard for any manager to prioritize a structure where a couple of people or single family utilizes ahead of other structures used or viewed by hundreds or thousands of visitors on a yearly basis.

The other side of this coin is that some of these structures are located in pleasant settings that would make them prime for public lodging. Even residences not tucked away from major crowds may have the potential to generate revenue for the system as cottage get always. As we can assume from our other lodging expansions recently, the type of outdoors experiences people are coming to expect is changing to a more modern/convenient mode. Using the residences as lodging would help us meet at least some of those needs on a case by case basis.

While no change could possibly happen in a swift manner, as vacancies occur, it could be decided whether or not it is feasible to keep providing housing at the specific facility. I realize this will be quite an adjustment for our visitors as well as our staff. It won't work in all cases but changes in staffing schedules and coverage can accommodate most of these problems.

We will never have enough of any of the above if you don't please share your secret with everyone else. Most parks feel like that too much control of the above items rest in Jefferson City and not with the individuals on the front lines. They won’t tell you this because they are afraid of Jeff City or retribution from supervisors.

Facilities and Land Acquisition

Don’t commit us beyond our means of support. It’s great that we have a dedicated sales tax. But it will only go so far. Right now we have a number of buildings and infrastructure that we can’t take care of. And let’s be very careful that we don’t inherit any “white elephants.” If we are going to develop areas within established facilities, then let’s focus on youth users, e.g. skate board facilities, basketball courts, etc.

East of Springfield in Webster, Wright or Douglas counties, there are many large tracts available. Douglas County has many high quality streams that are threatened by too much development. I would also suggest expanding the size of every existing park where feasible.

Missouri is a very diverse state. Therefore we must use this diversity to the best of our ability. Camping is the lifeblood of our parks. Camping in our parks and sites continues to be a life experience for our visitors. Do we continue providing that traditional camping experience or do we expand into RVing? Whatever the decision, we will need to expand camping areas.

We are all aware of the constant need to maintain our facilities. As we construct new structures such as visitor centers, showerhouses, cabins, etc., we need to always keep in mind the need to maintain these structures in the future. Roads, parking lots, water and sewage systems, etc. all fall in this category as well as historic structures. Both funding and good planning are needed to maintain the parks' infrastructure for the benefit of the many people that visit historic sites and parks now and in the future.

I believe we are moving in the right direction with qualified and knowledgeable staff and understanding the importance of cyclical maintenance. Though, funding will be needed to maintain what we have now and what expansions may occur in the future. Caring for infrastructure should always be a high priority.

Diversity

We are or have been a non-traditional employer for many minorities. I feel we need to work with inner city job services for advertisement and promotion. We may need to consider re-establishing a program similar to the old YCC or YACC to get potential long-term employees started with us.

Our facilities have great diversity and we must strive to keep that diversity and as our visitors’ diverse interests change, so must we. As history continues to happen, we must excel at preserving it.

As the population increases, there is also a rise in environmental degradation as people use more and more natural resources. We need to protect the parks from pressures of the consumption or wise use of those resources vs. preservation/protection.

Studies have shown that as the global population increases, there is a decrease in education levels. It will be very important to educate visitors to understand on the value of our parks.

Related to that is the diversity of the population we will see: American Indians, Asians, African Americans, Hispanics and Caucasians. We will have to educate all of these groups who will have different cultural backgrounds and appreciation/values for plants and animals. We will need to educate them on the value of our resource management rational. For example, why you can't pick ginseng in parks. We will also need to consider recreational needs of those cultures such as having open play areas where folks could informally play soccer.

Urbanization is also an issue we are seeing. Rock Bridge and Babler state parks use to be out in the country, and are now surrounded by suburbs. We need to budget to purchase property buffers as they become available.

Other items to consider would include bilingual signs/publications and staff (including seasonals) and support for learning a foreign language, particularly Spanish.

Money should be set aside in the budget for new technology such as the GPS rangers, virtual tours and advanced media technology.

We need to emphasize non-petroleum energy use in the infrastructure and budget for it, i.e. green buildings, solar power.

With global warming and climate change, I expect we can see more severe weather more frequently and a longer season for it. We need to budget accordingly for repairs and labor.

As far as funding goes, there may be a day when we have to charge an entrance fee, or have an annual park pass, but this could limit some populations from visiting. Other creative ways would be to have a donation box on tax forms, or personalized license plate options.

I think we should limit new park/site areas as much as possible unless long term funding is part of the package.

Programs and Events

Some of our special events seem to cater to single purpose special interest groups. Staffing and funding for these events seems to be more of a tradition.

My ideas on developing new programs/events, for that category, will need funding. It just takes money to pay performers to visit the site and share their knowledge and expertise on a subject or craft skill. In the past,all state-sponsored programs were paid by us and free to the public. Why not have the participants pay a fee to learn the skill being demonstrated or taught? That might limit the number in attendance, but we can specialize to a particular audience that will pay for the experience hence helping to pay for the instructor. I keep thinking about how the site could sponsor a powwow. Besides not having the expertise to “run the show,” we have no funding to “do it up right.” Gifts and competition prizes are expensive.

Our facility visitor doesn’t often know or understand all a facility has to offer. This is why we must continue to maintain and train interpreters. Programs continue to be a great tool for introducing kids to our natural wonders. Campers look forward to programs held in our parks. As new facilities and sites are developed, new programs and events must be foremost in our future.

The quality of interpretation among the facilities is outstanding in my opinion. We have a very dedicated staff that keeps up with national trends in the field of interpretation but we will need to continue to do so by the continuation and even expansion of training for interpreters throughout the system with an emphasis on both natural and cultural history.

One area that I have thought a good deal about is the ever changing technology the surrounds us and should exhibits, displays, etc. reflect this technology. The exhibits at Watkins Mill are very informative and the design is excellent but for the most part they are static. As I visit various museums, parks, and historic sites each year, I find more and more of them incorporating the technology of the day into the design of exhibits. I have some reservations because I have on more than one occasion seen an "out of order" sign on an exhibit but with the growing number of people carrying an IPOD and the popularity of high-tech computer games, I can't help but wonder if in years to come that visitors to our museums/visitor centers will expect more than artifacts on display and flat panels of text.

A centralized recreation facility to host events, tournaments and various recreational activities may be the answer to fulfilling the recreation aspect of our mission and serving the needs of the public. This state facility would become the “hub” for all state playoffs and championships. It would serve as a state park facility representing the past history and present developments of state championships, records and legends. Rather than dotting various facilities throughout the state with very average to below average fields, courts and equipment, it would be time well spent to invest in one centralized quality facility. This facility would potentially offer the opportunity for various events such as golf, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, etc. This facility could offer many other things beyond the scope of athletics in relation to the need for recreation.

Kids in the Outdoors (No Child Left Inside/Last Child in the Woods concerns)

Expand Urban Activities

Fitness/Obesity Issue

Marketing and Promotions

We need to start targeting the potential youth users of our facilities. Promote youth camping programs, youth overnight trail hikes and other activities that we have available that they may engage in while staying at a facility.

The one thing I think we need most is signage.

State parks and historic sites are extremely popular today but will they be in the future? There are all kinds of attractions, both public and private, vying for the attention of people these days. Marketing may need to be expanded from the more traditional methods of brochures and handouts to reflect the ever changing technology. We are seeing more and more of this these days via the Web sites but perhaps we need to take a closer look at the new technology such as blogs that are becoming so very popular. We have been contacted a couple times this year about us setting up a blog for Watkins Mill. I think it is worth looking into for the future.

Sewer hookups on a few sites in each campground

New and/or upgrade showers

Upgrade dump stations

More yurts or cabins

Upgrade campgrounds for the larger rigs

Internet/phone lines for hosts

At Campground Host Rallys, the hosts ask for the same things each year: laundry chips, telephone access, coupons to use when they leave a park. We should make decisions on some of the things they keep asking for. The hosts are worth everything they are given and more.

Upgrade all camping sites to 50 amp service

Pave or concrete camping sites

Add parks with campgrounds in the south central area of the state

Have a plan/checklist when interviewing concessionaire bidders to know if they are actually qualified business people. Do they know how to run a business or how to would treat customers and employees.

Upgrade the trail system with hard surfaces. More people use trails if they were hard surface. Seniors need sure footing to enjoy the walk.

Dog runs (charge for dogs)

Work with locals when water or wastewater treatments plants may become available.

Work with the Route 66 Association along the Route 66 highway across Missouri. They are very interested in the historic preservation of Route 66 across Missouri

Upgrade special use areas with restroom, campsites, shelters and water so they can be rented out to church groups, reunions, retreats and etc.

Plan, build and maintain roadside rest stops along major highways with the Department of Transportation (MoDOT) and promote Missouri state parks. This would include interpretative exhibits and a short trail with picnic tables where weary traveler could learn about and enjoy a small part of Missouri state parks.

Have more fun things to do for families -- more playgrounds, ball fields, basketball courts, tennis courts, volleyball courts, and/or horseshoe pits

Work with community where a historic site or park is located. Teach children or even families how to camp. Bring back the old "Learn to Camp" program but in today’s form.

Work with arts and quilt clubs. Homemade crafts could be used to fill in. Sponsor festivals. Let them given lessons, too. Be sure it is diverse from kids to grandparent friendly.

Become involved with local schools to promote Missouri state parks. Many students call and write for information on parks but many have never been in a state park. Could invite them for a field trip. Have snacks and beverage.

Need more activities that grandparents that are raising their grandchildren can enjoy together.

Retired employees who are living close to a park may enjoy volunteering with some activities.

Let the local people know what is being done at the park such as when a new project starts and work with paper to put in a picture of the finished project.

Keep passport free and go no longer than two years at a time.

Salary in keeping with the real world

Work to get more funding including general revenue funding back to division.

I also believe we should consider working closely with local colleges and universities where feasible, to include students in collections and interpretation-related projects to both benefit them and the facility. An internship program could be further developed that would provide students an opportunity to get some "hands-on" experience with not only conducting tours but also aiding in research for exhibit development or archaeology-based projects. I'm seeing first-hand more now than ever that students desire to have work experience before graduating and we need to further explore this resource to assist staff with an array of projects in the future.

Our new cultural center will have a few electronic gadgets but in the future no one will read displays nor travel destinations to see the sights. It's the age of destinations at your fingertips with virtual museum tours. National Park Service has a GPS Ranger Tour -- visitor guided hikes with assistance of electronic devices. They also have Podcast Tours where visitors listen to recorded messages without the personal human touch of an interpreter.

Also related to marketing are the changes we are seeing throughout the country with regard to ethnic groups. The division will need to consider the increasing number of Hispanic and Latino visitors to the parks and how to best market our facilities to this growing population. Signage, programming, etc. will all need to be reviewed as we move further into the 21st century for all ethnic groups.

Miscellaneous

Motor homes do little to connect “campers” with any portion of our mission.

We must improve our internal communications and information. Many large projects seem to be top secret as there is so little information available. For example, when discussing DNR’s apparent opposition to protecting endangered species in the Missouri River in newspapers and radio programs, I never heard any mention of DSP’s partnering for habitat restoration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Weston Bend State Park. This habitat improvement, sponsored by a division of DNR, may have been the best kept secret on the Missouri River when it should have been touted as a great example of cooperation for resource protection!

Few of us in the field or even central office know what occurs in other DSP programs such as Resource Management and Interpretation Program (RMIP). I know that many facility managers are ….how to say it…dubious of RMIP’s performance, especially in the communication end of things.

Establish a Web page, like other DNR divisions. Certainly we have a Web page for our facilities, but none for our division. We have recently added some information to the “Parks” Web pages about DSP and perhaps all we need to do is expand this information. I would like to see organization charts, real job descriptions, threats, long- and short-term, projects and budget information. I guess what I am trying to get is a statewide status picture here, trying to help employees and the public to see the big statewide picture beyond their facility or desktop.

Invasive species control is very important for maintaining ecological integrity of parklands, something that has to be given higher priority than interpretation and recreation because we are the caretakers responsible for carrying these wonderful natural resources forward for future generations. The quality of interpretive and recreational experiences will be reduced because of invasive species. Control of invasive species will be very costly in terms of both equipment and labor expense.

Although acquiring areas for new state parks is important, I believe that we should place a higher priority on acquiring land to act as a buffer between urban encroachment and our current state parks. We need to increase our funding for property purchases significantly.

We need to be more efficient in our bill paying. Put a park’s expense and equipment, small maintenance and repair and possibly capital improvement money into a checking account and allow bills to be paid at the park level. Facility heads would be responsible for making sure all purchasing rules are followed (there could be appropriate disciplinary action taken if not). Any invoice (with the exception of fuel) over $1,000 could go through current channels. It shouldn’t take five (or more) people to pay a bill especially those under $25. (The imprest fund cannot be used for many items and is limited to a maximum of $25 except for refunds. It still takes the same people to get the imprest fund reconciled as it does to pay an invoice.) If you don’t think this is a good idea, then look into making sure every division employee has a procurement card and that the procurement card should be used for everything including services such as vehicle repairs and utilities.

I realize that liability is an issue and the Katy Ride is at, over or near capacity each year, but we need to do C.A.M.P (Cycle Across Missouri Parks) rides again. We are placing a heavy burden on our Katy volunteers, especially the day coordinators for the ride. Perhaps we could alternate: C.A.M.P in even years, Katy in odd years. We should also look at the possibility of doing a fall Katy Ride. To see if there would be enough interest, ask the question on the Web site. Right now, we are using data from Katy Ride participants to determine that June is the preferred month. There’s a bias in just asking them because they are attending the event in June. I’ve talked with several people who would like to have a fall ride and I’ve talked with even more asking about C.A.M.P. rides.

We should also look into the possibility of doing a horseback ride or hike similar in scope to the Katy Ride along the Ozark Trail.

If MDC, with DNR’s assistance, can raise funds for the Missouri Conservation Heritage Fund by hosting the Endangered Species Walk/Run (which they hold on the Katy Trail), why can’t we raise funds for the Missouri State Parks Foundation by doing a similar thing? We could host events in all areas of the state using the park system’s trails.

In order to protect the natural resources in the park system, we need to devote more funds and staff to exotic species control.

There are several reports about children today having “Nature Deficit Disorder” and with people in general being afraid to go outdoors because of tick-born illnesses, West Nile virus, etc. If people really start to stay away from parks because of these issues, it will have a negative impact. In order to combat these views, we need to hire more interpreters to go out especially to urban areas to get people interested in nature again.