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City suspends rec program
The City of Quincy has temporarily suspended its recreation program after firing the program’s director, Chris Koeppel.
Koeppel’s employment contract with the city was terminated last week, mayor Jim Hemberry said at Tuesday’s council meeting.
Koeppel was appointed to the position in May 2009.
“(We fired Chris) without cause,” Hemberry said after the meeting. “That’s all I have to say about that. I have that authority, and I will exercise that authority.”
At the meeting, Hemberry told the council that he’s talked to members of the city’s recreation and arts committee about a plan going forward. Hemberry said he expects the committee to make a recommendation to the city by the end of the year.
“It’s back to the drawing board,” Hemberry said. “When I talked to the committee, my point was, based on a variety of factors, what is it that we want to have, and what do we need to do to get it? Are we going to have somebody work part time or full time? We’ll have to figure out who’s going to continue on with those responsibilities. The committee indicated to me that their plan would be that we’d have a full-time person again, and they’d come up with certain criteria for that position.”
Council member Scott Lybbert said that he’s in favor of hiring another full-time employee for the department.
“Everybody’s interested in having a rec department,” Hemberry said after the meeting. “There are budget issues; we have money, but tax issues are a concern. We want to put together a program that is what we want for the cost that it’s going to take to put it on. We want to make sure we’re providing what the community is expecting.”
Hemberry said a successful recreation factor could be a boon to the community’s youth.
“This is a big issue for me,” he said. “I want to make a big push for youth activities. I want a rec program that serves everybody, of course, but I think if we can provide youth activities, that can tie in (and help us) with some of our problems. If we give the kids something to do after school and during the summer, that’s going to help the police department and the community.
“I still want to have adult rec, but I’m concerned about getting this thing off the ground with the youth.”
• Police chief Richard Ackerman announced that detective Paul Snyder has been promoted to sergeant.
