As the City of Steinbach continues to grow, the Mayor of Steinbach says the Parks and Recreation Department is also growing and changing to keep up.

Earl Funk says this year there will be more seasonal staff than ever, which means a new position needs to be added.

"We are growing so big and we are adding parks and green space every year, there is just so much mowing to do and so much maintenance to do that we have to add a supervisory position because it is too much work for one person to look after 40 people that are going out into the community to work all day long."

Funk notes they will now hire a dedicated parks supervisor that will oversee everything that has to do with park and green space maintenance.

That is not the only personnel change in the Parks and Recreation Department this year. Funk says the city’s landscape technician Joyce Purchase, who has been working for the City of Steinbach since 1996 has decided to step down.

"This is her last season so we are hiring someone to shadow her for a year and apprentice and become the new beautification manager too. We are in a transition, a bit of a Renaissance with parks and rec and it is just growing and we need to hire staff to take care of that growth."

In addition to the new hires, Earl Funk says the city has also put an extra $50,000 into the Parks and Recreation Department’s tree planting fund for the year. He notes Steinbach has been losing somewhere between 200 and 400 trees every year and they are ramping up their replacement efforts.

"We are looking at replacing those trees, especially in our downtown area. With the new arborist getting the trimming program under control, there are going to be lots of purchases, we will need to get a truck and a chipper, it is going to take some inventory to get this done but I think we will have a great year."

Funk says most of the trees lost every year are due to the Dutch Elm Disease and many of them are on private property. He adds, fortunately, the Emerald Ash Borer beetle has not yet made it’s way to Steinbach. He reminds residents that the City of Steinbach does have some cost-sharing incentives available to people who want to plant trees with all the details available on their website.