Hutchinson’s Library Square is decked out for the holidays this year with an additional $4,300 worth of Christmas lights strung in the park. It’s another part of the city’s efforts to bring more people downtown.
The Eggspert statue on the stairs of the Hutchinson Public Library has a bit more light to help with his evening reading.
The pots around the Hutchinson Brothers statue are lit up as well.
With the Library Square fountain shut off for the winter, it makes a perfect spot for a Christmas tree.
As the nights grow longer and temperatures drop, many Hutchinson residents have realized that the city is a little brighter this winter.
Downtown Hutchinson has more lights than ever. In addition to Christmas lights on the library, on the hospice tree, along Main Street and at the Great Northern Depot, many more are wrapped around trees in Library Square in a clear expansion to the glow of past years.
“What better place than in our beautiful Library Square?” said Hutchinson City Council Member Mary Christensen. “I hope we can build on it every year so it’s a showstopper when we are finished.”
Christensen, who lobbied for additional city community funds to be pushed toward the holiday celebration, highlighted a few motivations. One is beautification.
“I’ve always said that park is our crowning jewel of our city,” she said. “It’s beautiful.”
She added that with new offerings on their way to Main Street, including several current and upcoming restaurants and retail shops, there is more reason to drive residents and visitors downtown.
“I’m excited about it all. (The lights) will draw people downtown,” Christensen said. “It will get people to downtown businesses.”
Although there is no Main Street Christmas or parade of lights planned for this year, Christensen envisions future additional holiday offerings downtown as the display grows, including Santa Clause and marshmallow roasting.
“There are a whole host of things you can do to make a downtown,” Christensen said.
Sara Witte, Hutchinson parks supervisor, who walked Library Square with Christensen to discuss the additions, said seeing them completed drove home their value.
“I came in over the weekend and drove through and boy it looks good all lit up,” she said.
A crew of four parks staff hung the industrial-quality lights, which are expected to last into the future. As of Dec. 1, the city had spent $4,359 on the addition, with an expected $500-$1,000 remaining. Last year, the “Hope” sign was added, along with a new tree wrapped in lights. Other additions around Hutchinson had begun to appear over the past few years as well.
“Otherwise, it has been probably a half dozen years since we had added the wraps,” Witte said.
Increased pay ranges to attract part-time, seasonal employees such as life guards at the Aquatic Center was included among proposed changes to Hutchinson’s employee wages structure.
A compensation study conducted by the city of Hutchinson recommends it bump its pay scale it uses to calculate salary potentials for city employees by 7%. But that doesn't mean pay will jump by the same figure.
Following a study in 2016, the city committed to reviewing its pay structure every five years in order to be competitive among other employers in the market in attracting and retaining qualified, reliable employees. The structure is also there to make certain employees are paid based on their contribution to the city's success and paid fairly in comparison to other positions. The most recent 2021 study reviewed 32 jobs.
Overall, the study found positions lower on the scale where turnover is higher are a few percentage points behind market rate. Positions higher on the scale where there has been more longevity are a few percentage points above market rate. Salary range midpoints, however, are about four points behind market average, with the city's annual 2% climb is falling behind trends.
In response, the study suggests an increase of 7% to catch up and accommodate for an expected 3% climb in the market in 2022. Hutchinson City Administrator Matt Jaunich told City Council members at their Nov. 23 meeting that the 7% increase would be in keeping with financial forecasts elsewhere. For instance, the state salary cap is expected to rise 6.2%.
Jaunich noted that changing the pay scale doesn't automatically increase salaries. While it may bring up the low end of the scale, overall it increases potential earnings for employees.
A few examples from the proposed structure show:
- For 2021, a grade 110 employee, such as a part-time liquor sales clerk, made a minimum of $16.82 and a maximum of $25.22 hourly. For 2022, that would increase to $17.99 and $26.99.
- For 2021, a grade 180 employee, such as a police sergeant, made a minimum of $30.01 and a maximum of $45.01 hourly. For 2022, that would climb to $32.11 and $48.16.
- For 2021, a grade 260 employee, the city manager position, made a minimum of $51.14 and a maximum of $76.70 hourly. For 2022, it would climb to $54.72 and $82.07.
Overall, two positions were moved lower on the grade scale, four were moved up on the scale, one new position was reviewed and 13 positions were unchanged.
The total impact on the city budget for 2022 would be $146,000, with much of that change — $77,000 to $80,000 — associated with part-time, seasonal employees.
The pay grade in 2021 for such employees ranged from $11.08 to $27.90
"I know I had a couple of texts from council members going, 'How are we going to hire any lifeguards when we are paying $11.50 an hour?'" Jaunich said. "And that was not only a challenge in the pool, but we saw the same challenge in the public works and in the parks with hiring our part-time seasonal (employees)."
Recommended for 2022 is a range of $12 to $29.15 with fewer steps, each of which are more meaningful.
"There are significant increases in the proposed wages within our part-time seasonal and temporary," Jaunich said. "Based off of what I think we are seeing within the local market, whether it's Kwik Trip or Walmart, where they are starting people at $15 to $18 to $20 an hour, we realized we had to make a significant shift."
The council is expected to make a decision regarding the proposed changes at a meeting this month.
- Updated
Hutchinson Public Schools is seeking an interim high school principal to replace Principal Robert Daneker, who is leaving to take a different position at the end of the year.
Danneker, who started at HHS in 2018, will remain in the position until he starts his new job as director of student services at Rockford Public Schools on Jan. 3. Superintendent Daron VanderHeiden said Danneker asked to be released from his contract with Hutchinson to take the Rockford position, and the district agreed.
“This (Rockford position) is a good opportunity for Rob,” VanderHeiden said. “He’s been commuting from Minneapolis for the last four years. We wish him the best as he moves forward.”
In a statement from Danneker, he praised HHS teachers and staff, the community and School Board members.
“The decision to leave HHS was not an easy one to arrive at,” Danneker wrote in a letter to students and families. “First and foremost, the students of HHS are an extraordinary group of individuals whose accomplishments are second to none — especially when compared to schools of similar size. The perennial success of HHS students in performing above and beyond their normative peers in the classroom, on standardized assessments, on the fields of competition, and on the performance stage are a source of pride for them as individuals, for the Hutchinson community as a whole, and certainly for the high school principal.”
A job posting for the interim principal position in Hutchinson appeared Nov. 30 and calls for an available date of Jan. 3. The posting is open until Dec. 12. VanderHeiden said the school hopes to offer the interim position to a candidate prior to Christmas break.
Rob Danneker
“We will try to find an interim ... to get us through the school year,” said Hutchinson School Board Chair JoEllen Kimball. “That will give us time to do a good search for a new principal.”
“The interim person may be the right person,” VanderHeiden said. “But usually during this time of year, your candidates are very limited because most folks are under contract.”
Hutchinson High School also has an assistant principal, Timothy Singer-Towns.
