Canton moves toward parks director hire

Responding to growth in its park system, the Canton City Council is moving toward creating a parks and recreation director position.

The governing body voted unanimously late last week to have City Manager Glen Cummins draw up a job description for the post and bring it back to the council early next year. A director could be on board by spring and would manage the parks, coordinate scheduling of special events and oversee recreational league use of the facilities. Currently, those functions are spread out among two different city departments and the leagues themselves.

Council members raised concerns about the cost of the position, and about adding it before the 2016 budget cycle. Cummins said he estimates the annual salary would be $55,0000-$65,000 and that the money would come out of contingency funds.