Marion Reservoir could cut jobs
A proposed change in staffing at Marion Reservoir appears more certain, officials said Friday.
Currently, plans call for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District, to reduce staff levels by about 100 people.
The goal is to contribute a larger portion of the budget to infrastructure repairs on the various dams, all of which are almost 40 years old.
According to Bruce Padgham, project manager at the reservoir, the likely changes at Marion will be:
— reduction in maintenance crew from three to one.
— reduction in office staff from one full-time to one part-time.
— eliminating the on-site manager.
The number of park rangers will remain unchanged.
"The changes are in management, administrative, and maintenance areas, not in rangers," Padgham said. "It's not set in concrete, but I suspect we'll see the changes in managers starting in January or February."
The plan was first announced several months ago. Corps of Engineers officials say their budget has not increased enough through the decades to keep up with needed maintenance projects. Without the added dollars, "the only source we have is salaries," Padgham said.
Instead of each of the eight lakes in Kansas having an on-site manager, there will be three area managers. Marion will be combined with Council Grove and John Redmond, with the manager at Council Grove.
A larger maintenance staff would be based at John Redmond. Those workers would help at the various lakes as needed.
Officials hope to reduce most of the jobs through attrition or transfers. Some employees may choose retirement rather than a transfer.
Padgham said he plans to review the options available before making a decision. He may remain with the Corps depending on what positions are open.
Padgham said it wasn't clear what the long-term effect would be on the reservoir, particularly in maintenance.
"You can't take away the quality folks we have and say there won't be an impact," he said. "But we know the people who would fill in, and they are dedicated to making things right."
At the same time, many of the routine maintenance projects, such as mowing and cleaning, are bid out to private contractors, Padgham said.
