DES MOINES, Iowa — This summer, the city of Des Moines is planning to introduce four new summer camp programs serving kids across all four wards.
Staffing challenges, however, could put those programs at risk. That's because the city had 24 positions to fill just to staff the camps. Even though those positions have been posted since December, the city has only hired two people.
The summer camps are modeled after the program the city has had at Evelyn K. Davis Park for several years.
"It was a little bit of everything; there were field trips; there was art programs; there were swim lessons," described Jen Fletcher, Marketing Supervisor for the Des Moines Parks and Recreation.
The new summer programs booked up quickly after they were introduced back in March.
"50 kids per site, per week," said Fletcher. "It's really unprecedent. This is a groundbreaking breaking program."
The 200 kids who have signed up and their families could stand to feel the impact if the city doesn't meet its hiring goal.
"We're definitely concerned about how we're going to staff it because if we don't have the staff, we can't offer the program," said Fletcher.
The city has raised the wages to $12 to $17 per hour. It's also lowered the minimum age from some of the camp roles to 16.
"We're doing everything we can. We're reaching out to neighborhoods; we're reaching out to organizations; we're reaching out to schools," said Fletcher. "We were exhausting all of our efforts."
Councilman Josh Mandelbaum who represents Ward three said the city needs to do more to stay competitive.
"We've got a tight, tight labor market, and people have other opportunities and if we aren't offering enough compared to what's out there in the market, people are going to go elsewhere," said Mandelbaum. "I've had started to have that conversation with the city manager."
Meanwhile, Fletcher is making her best pitch to would-be candidates.
"You get to work 40 hours a week; you're going to be outside; you're going to be working with great kids and great staff. It's Monday through Friday; it's eight to five," Fletcher said. "Sounds like a pretty good gig to me."
Fletcher also said she is hopeful everything will work out.
"We'll make this happen. We just need help," she said.
If you are interested in applying, you can visit dmparks.org for more information.