Waitlists exist for many of the youth day camps that are being planned for this summer. Snyderville Basin Recreation District Director Dana Jones says that if they could open more sessions, they would...
“One of the problems is staffing,” she said. “We need to have enough staff to be able to put on the programs and last year we even had to pull our full time staff in to help with that. So, we would love to put on more programs. But the other part is facilities. We really need to have a dedicated camp facility. I mean, right now, the kids, they arrive at Trailside they have to get in vans to go to Ecker to swim at the pool and so if we could come up with and maybe Silver Creek is the place for this, if we can come up with the right kind of facility, I really do think we can expand our programs.”
The district she says is looking to hire many seasonal workers to help with both the camps and outdoor park and recreation facilities.
“We are madly hiring things like camp counselors and lifeguards and swim instructors and mountain bike instructors,” she said. “We actually swell our staff to up to 175 staff members in the summertime if we can find everyone. So, our staff levels, double, triple, quadruple in the summertime, when we have all these programs.”
New this year is a partnership with Deer Valley Resort to help with the housing needs of Basic Rec’s seasonal staff.
“We've been able to talk with Deer Valley and work with them to get some seasonal housing,” Jones said. “We're going to be using some of their housing at Prospector. So, if we do have folks that want to come, you know, college kids from back east that just want to come and spend the summer in Park City, we will have an ability to put them in dormitory style housing, and when they work for us.”
The district she adds is underway with a strategic planning process, which will include the buildout of the 100 acres it has in the Silver Creek Village area...She doesn’t expect to have a plan for another year but does expect to see indoor spaces as well as more outdoor facilities.
“If you ask me, I would love to see some type of a multigenerational facility, you know, everything from indoor space, classrooms, an ability to provide meals if we need to, camp space,” she said. “So, I would like to see indoor space, but mine is only one voice and we want to hear everybody's voice.”
Learn more about the district’s summer programs and seasonal jobs online at basinrecreation.org
