ESCANABA - Escanaba City recently received an unusual but welcome donation. A financial gift from an anonymous donor was accepted by council Thursday to hire a seasonal employee to work in the cities parks.
"This was a very gracious gift. We welcome more," said City Manager Jim O'Toole, commenting this is the first time he's heard of anyone making such a donation to the city.
Council approved an amount of $3,824 to fund an additional part-time position in the Public Works Department. The only stipulation of the donation was that the employee works in the parks and recreational facilities, said Public Works Superintendent/City Engineer Bill Farrell.
O'Toole noted that hiring an additional worker with the donation will be of no cost to the city. The funds will provide pay for 12 weeks of employment at 40 hours per week at a pay rate of $7.40 per hour, he stated in a memorandum to council.
"The addition of a seasonal laborer in the Department of Public Works would greatly assist in keeping up with the numerous maintenance tasks within our park and recreational facilities," O'Toole commented in the memorandum.
When questioned about the anonymous donor after Thursday's meeting, O'Toole said the individual is a lifelong city resident who loves to go to the park.
In other business Thursday, council agreed to enter into a three-year contract with Anderson, Tackman and Company of Escanaba to do the state-mandated audits of city accounts through the 2013-14 fiscal year at a price not to exceed $94,500.
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Jenny Lancour, (906) 786-2021, ext. 143, jlancour@dailypress.net