Interviews begin for parks and rec head

Interviews start today for a new city of Lewiston parks and recreation director.

The city is down to three finalists from a field of 33 applicants from throughout the United States for the job, which pays $95,254 to $138,538 per year.

“None of the candidates are local,” said Carol Maurer, the city’s public outreach coordinator in an email.

The names of the candidates are not being made public because their information is exempt from disclosure and not all of the finalists provided consent for the city to identify them, Maurer said.

The interviews will be today, Friday and Monday. The process includes a panel interview, a meeting with Nikki Province, human resources director; Shannon Grow, operations director, who has been serving as interim parks director; lunch with city department directors; and a tour with Mayor Dan Johnson.

The candidates will see places such as Community Park near Lewiston High School, Normal Hill Cemetery, Lewiston’s community center, Bryden Canyon Golf Course, Orchards Pool, and Bert Lipps Pool, which has been closed for two summers.

Johnson is expected to make a selection for the position by about March 24, a week after the last interview, Maurer said.

The new parks and recreation director will replace Tim Barker who left Lewiston in October to take a similar role in Bremerton, a community about Lewiston’s size in Washington.

Barker had been Lewiston’s parks and recreation director since 2011, after joining the department as assistant director in 2008.

One of the tasks Barker’s successor will face will be what to do at the site of Bert Lipps Pool, which closed when it developed a massive leak in the summer of 2023 and never re-opened.

That pool as well as upgrades at Community Park were two projects that consumed much of Barker’s time in his final years in Lewiston.

Barker and others developed a master plan for the 187-acre park that would include a splash pad, destination playground, athletic fields, a venue for large community events like a farmers market, an amphitheater for concerts and restrooms.

The plan stalled when city officials chose not to run a bond for the project.

One of the upgrades completed during Barker’s tenure was pickleball courts at Sunset Park. A total of $126,000 for the $300,000 improvement came from nonprofit groups and community members.

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.