Volunteers, interns help strapped local government function
Whether working for the city’s golf course, city projects or grants, Susanville keeps the wheels turning with volunteers and interns.
While the Diamond Mountain Golf Course requires consistent maintenance to keep the course in good condition, there are limitations to its budgets and resources. In order to maintain an acceptable standard, additional help is needed to maintain the course.
This is why the city created its Work for Golf program. It provides an additional work force that assists in general grounds keeping and equipment maintenance.
Under the direct supervision of the golf course’s superintendent, volunteers would perform essential functions in the arena of the grounds maintenance worker’s job description.
Six workers will be selected in a competitive process. These will be required to work a number of hours equivalent to a membrship.
The city of Susanville has been successful in utilizing interns for many of its projects including the Paul Bunyan Area Sustainable Communities grant, income surveys for the Community.
The city’s intern staff, Samantha Tiffany, Gracie Claypool and Honesty Drake work tirelessly alongside city staff accomplishing various projects.
The city council authorized the use of interns on projects that are fully reimbursable, meaning no extra cost for the city. The city staff detailed a summary of the efforts at the March 20 city council meeting and said that they believe the interns “have been instrumental in moving these projects toward completion and are valuable resources that frees up full-time regular staff to pursue additional projects.”
It also doesn’t hurt that the saving from the use of interns allows the completion of more work with constrained budgets.
At the March 20 meeting the staff proposed two additional programs for which they will use interns. The CalRecycle Program and the State Route 36 Safe Streets Mobility Study.
CalRecycle program interns will be involved with the disbursement of educational materials, organization of recycling related events and other activities. The staff requested the use of the $15,000 balance from annual CalRecycle payments to the city.
Quincy McCourt, city of Susanville’s program manager, told the council one of the ways the reimbursable funds could be used for the program was to have what is called a “recycling expert,” which would be a person who would “walk up and down Main Street in a uniform … to provide a friendly face,” who would essentially collect data and “contribute an enhanced sense of safety.”
The Highway 36 study will use funding from Caltrans to the Lassen County Transportation Commission to perform a sustainable communities study, for which the city is eligible to be reimbursed $11,395. The interns will assist with community outreach, data entry and other activities.
