LEWISTON — City staff is planning for a fall restart of its recreation programs after COVID-19 caused a slew of cancellations and the loss of a key position in the department.

The department’s program coordinator — one of only 2.5 employees — was included in 12 vacant city positions that were cut from next year’s budget in response to protected revenue shortfalls caused by the pandemic.

At the time, staff members said the loss of the programmer position would put all future recreation programs in jeopardy. City administration and councilors agreed that the recreation position would be among the first to be reconsidered if the city’s revenue projections are too pessimistic.

During a City Council workshop Tuesday, officials laid out plans for the proposed September reopening, as well as a long-term goal of creating a combined Parks & Recreation department. The city has standalone recreation and “open space” divisions.

Leading up to the workshop, recreation staff were asked to develop plans for restoring programming for the fall and winter season and to outline future plans.

According to Director Jason Hanken, most of the programs, including field hockey, soccer and cheering, are set to reopen in early September. Most programs have under 30 participants, and volleyball, which has nearly 70, is split into teams. He said all activities will be kept well under the 50-person limit for gatherings.

“If we stayed where we are now I’d be comfortable operating these programs, with a lot less games and more skills and drills,” he told the council, regarding Maine’s current case count.

The department had 1,360 participants in its nearly 20 programs in fiscal 2019.

Hanken told officials that in order to sustain programming, however, the department must reinstate the program coordinator position as soon as possible. He said adding two programmer positions to work under the coordinator could allow him to focus on special events that could generate more revenue for the department.

According to his presentation, staffing levels for the Recreation Department have fallen from a high of 14 in 2003, to just 2.5 in 2020.

Then, according to the proposal, the city would “evaluate the benefits and cost of creating a full Parks & Recreation department for the (fiscal 2023) budget.”

Hanken said the national staffing average for a Parks & Recreation department in a similar-sized city is 27. If Lewiston combined its recreation and open space divisions now, it would have under 10 employees.

Deputy City Administrator Dale Doughty said Public Works employees now working under the open space division also fill other roles within the department, including plowing in the winter, which will have to be worked out if the city decides to eventually budget for a combined Parks & Recreation department.

Hanken said that with several city positions in flux, including Doughty’s former position as Public Works director, “Now is the time to plan, and come out of this pandemic better.”

“I’m happy to see the forward thinking that recreation is doing right now in planning for the years ahead,” Councilor Luke Jensen said. “I know there are people excited to see what recreation has planned when it starts again.”

At least one councilor questioned if the city could hire a temporary programmer for the department, but Hanken said available funding would only allow for a short-term solution.

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