ST. LOUIS COUNTY A. Existing activities: Professional, 83; semiprofessional, 89; clerical, 143; service, 181; agricultural, 699; skilled and semiskilled, 40; unskilled, 297. B. New projects: Professional, 83; semiprofessional, 465; clerical, 146; service, 58; agricultural, 451; skilled and semiskilled, 77 ; unskilled, 214. BELTRAMI COUNTY A. Existing activities: Semiprofessional, 9; clerical, 14; services, 34; agricultural, 72; skilled and semiskilled, 23; unskilled, 284. B. New projects: Professional, 17; semiprofessional, 39; clerical, 1; service, 1; agricultural, 12; skilled and semiskilled, 70; unskilled, 264. Occupations included above are: Professional: Teachers, recreation leader, research analyst, and biologist. Semiprofessional: Biologist aid, scientific helper, engineering aid, and forester aid. Clerical: Library helper, clerk, clerk typist, stock clerk, bookkeeper, and receptionist. Service: Cafeteria helper, custodian, nurses aid, housekeeping aid, orderly, hospital attendant, cook, waitress, and kitchen helper. Agricultural: Tree planter, blister rust controller, grounds keeper, ball field caretaker, moss picker, pine cone picker, sprayer, nursery planter, grubber, tree trimming and pruning laborer, yardworker. Skilled and semiskilled: Maintenance supervisor, electrician helper, mechanic helper, crew foreman, audiovisual aid, shop repairman, busdriver, truckdriver, and painter helper. Unskilled: Warehouse worker, conservation laborer, dam construction laborer, fish and game habitat improvement laborer, roadbuilding laborer, tent camp worker, zoo laborer, nursery and plantation laborer, and forestry laborer. MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL SMSA A. Existing activities: Professional, 105; semiprofessional and technical, 138; clerical (438; service, 117; agricultural and kindred, 22; skilled and semiskilled, 78; unskilled, 488. B. New projects: Professional, 549; semiprofessional and technical. 159; clerical, 455; service, 275; agricultural and kindred, 76; skilled and semiskilled, 193; and unskilled, 656. Occupations included above: Professional: Registered nurses, tutors (elementary), physical therapist, dietitian, nursery schoolteacher assistant, camp instructors, assistant physical education instructors, research assistant (library), gameroom supervisors, recreation staff aids, program registrar, swimming instructor, reading instructor, neighborhood visitor, librarian, neighborhood organizer, Indian visitors, group leaders (recreation), assistant group leaders (recreation), camp counselors, art and drama group leaders, preschool teacher's aid, and sewing instructor. Semiprofessional and technical: research assistant, biologist aid, recreation aids, program assistants (recreation), conservation guides, display helpers, social service trainees, crew leader (biology), and commercial artist. Clerical: Clerical assistant, messenger, information clerk, indexer, typist, library pages, catalog clerk (audiovisual), file clerk, stenographer, survey clerk, library aids, statistical clerk, office machine operator, receptionist, mimeograph machine operator, teacher's aid, document clerk, camp clerk, purchasing clerk, sales clerk, keypunch operator, and tab machine operator. Service: Nursing assistant, dietary helpers, sightseeing guide, museum guard, camp cooks, hospital orderlies, nurses' aid, cook's helper, housekeepers, janitors, nursery assistant, groundsman, laundress, locker room assistant, waitress, salad girl assistant, busboy, pastry cook assistant, dishwasher, cabin aids, and building watchman. Agricultural Laborer (fish spawning), laborer (nursery), laborer (farm grubbers), laborer (blight control), and tree planter. Skilled and semiskilled: Display preparer, book menders, painter, subforeman (labor), engineering aid, maintenance man, home decorator, supervisor (odd jobs), camp repairman, general repairman, driver, survey assistant, film inspection and repairman. Unskilled Laborer (general), fossil digger, painter's helper, laborer (camp), laborer (fish pond), odd jobs man, rodman helpers, rough fish remover, and brush cleaners. 1 Includes: Aitkin, Clearwater, St. Louis, Hubbard, Crow Wing, Cass, and Beltrami Counties. NOTE.-Outstate 332 projects: SMSA 83 projects; total 415 projects. Hon. GAYLORD NELSON, BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS, Minneapolis, Minn., June 18, 1964. Washington, D.C. DEAR SENATOR NELSON: Thank you for your letter of May 29, and I will give you some of my own viewpoints on your questions. We are, of course, a municipal park and recreation system and most of our park areas get a high, intensive use. We also carry on a very active recreation program. Our services, in most cases, are fairly technical but I believe that there would be areas particularly in the program aspects where help would be certainly welcome. We, of course, have local civil service rules and other regulations that have to be considered and complied with, and I have not reviewed this matter closely enough to be able to intelligently answer your questions. Depending a great deal upon the type of funds that would be available, we do have a good backlog of plans and projects and work that could be done. We would appreciate it if your office can keep us informed on this whole matter of conservation of open space and the development of facilities for the leisure-time needs of our citizens. Sincerely yours, FELIX K. DHAININ, Landscape Architect-Administrative. MANKATO, MINN., July 7, 1964. Mr. GAYLORD NELSON, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. NELSON: I am writing in answer to your letter of June 15, 1964. At present time the Mankato Park Department using municipal funds are hiring at a minimum wage some people on welfare and some juvenile offenders for special projects. Unfortunately, the amount of money spent is extremely limited as it comes from our normal budget. However, the atmosphere in Mankato for this type of project is favorable. We do have many projects where more employees could be used. The Minnesota River project could use several hundred unemployed people at the county and municipal level if it ever gets out of the "talking phase." The specific kinds of projects our own department could undertake are as follows: (These man-year estimates are based upon the number of seasonal employees we would employ on a 5-month work schedule.) The main drawbacks to projects of this kind are as follows: They 1. Most government institutions are quite jealous of their authority. may be afraid the Federal Government may try to control the projects as long as they are footing the bill. Some city governments are suspicious of Federal funds. 2. Lack of interest and lack of leadership lets funds that could be used for more employment lie idle while the unemployment line is long. 3. Probably the main concern from counties and municipalities will be insurance for the workers and how much additional transportation and supervision will be needed. Parks and recreation have been working on a strained budget for years and any additional costs added for no matter what the reason is looked upon with suspicion and a negative attitude. I am glad to see municipalities included in your planning. Very often the administrative authority such as the State or county are too slow to change with the changing needs of the general public. The municipal units may be the first to feel the pressure of the changing trend of recreational needs since in a smaller unit people can more readily get the ear of the administrators. However, lack of funds usually prevents adequate action on the municipal level. My comments are probably repetitious of many others. I do feel that your plans are a real step forward. I wish you every success. DEAR SENATOR NELSON: Your letter of June 15 was a very welcomed one to us because we are in need of assistance in improving our natural parks and recreation facilities. We have 6,000 acres of park and forest land within the city of Duluth of which 2,500 acres are totally or partially developed. This, I believe, points out the tremendous potential we have as an outdoor recreation area, if we could acquire some help in developing these resources. We could use 50 men on a year-round, full-time basis. These men would be working in our parks and forests on the following projects: overnight camps, day camps, boat-launching areas, nature trails, swimming areas, picnic grounds, bird sanctuaries, neighborhood parks, zoo facilities, golf facilities, and numerous other projects. Again, let me say we would welcome any assistance that we could receive and assure you we would do our utmost to channel it in the right direction. If you need any specific plans, we would be more than happy to send these at your request. I am hoping that you will be able to draft legislation to provide funds to help with projects dealing with outdoor recreation in ours, and other DEAR SENATOR NELSON: I appreciate your inquiry concerning the extent to which the city of Minneapolis would be able to utilize funds that might be available under the legislation you have introduced. I am asking our superintendent of parks, our city engineer, and our director of relief to write you directly, giving you the information you are seeking. The utilization of unemployed workers is a matter that has been reviewed many times and we do have the beginnings of the program in our division of relief. It involves, however, many complications. I I can say genuinely that I am in wholehearted support of every effort that would utilize unemployed persons for conservation and recreation projects. hope that the legislation is adopted. If I can help in some further way please let me know. Warmest personal regards. Sincerely yours, ARTHUR NAFTALIN, Mayor. MISSOURI RESPONSES MISSOURI STATE PARK BOARD, U.S. Senator, Hon. GAYLORD NELSON, Washington, D.O. DEAR SENATOR NELSON: Mr. Tilghman Cloud has forwarded me your letter concerning legislative funds for Federal, State, county, and municipal agencies. Therefore, I am answering your letter with the following information. 1. Yes, Missouri State parks could utilize a substantial number of workers. 2. We could make more room for new camping areas as well as water facilities for drinking and bathing in these areas. We could acquire more land for these parks and plant trees in these new areas. Improving the roads in our parks with an asphalt covering would be a great help. 3. Five to six man-years of work could be used in this project. I hope this information will be of some help. Our agency, the State park board, certainly will welcome this legislation. CLARENCE E. WYATT, Director of Parks. MISSOURI CONSERVATION COMMISSION, Hon. GAYLORD NELSON, Washington, D.C. DEAR SENATOR NELSON: Reference your letter of May 29 in regard to legislation to provide funds to utilize unemployed workers on concervation projects. It is somewhat difficult for us to make firm estimates of the number of men that we could use until we are familiar with the legislation. One of the problems that we have is finding sufficient money to match Federal funds. Under the Public Works Acceleration Act, we were not able to take advantage of some very worthwhile projects because we were unable to provide 50 percent of the cost. We are hopeful that the new legislation will provide for matching requirements as low as 10 percent. Some of the projects that we could participate in would include timber stand improvement, tree planting, and road and trail maintenance (brushing out, etc. of roads and trails on State land and perhaps trails on private land). In the TSI program on our own lands, we estimate that we could use 30 man-years of labor in the first year. On tree planting, we could use 10 man-years in a similar period. For road and trail maintenance, perhaps 4 man-years. If the legislation were broad enough so that we could do fire prevention work on private lands. this latter figure might be substantially increased. I am hopeful that this information will be of some value to you, and we certainly appreciate your interest in forestry and other conservation problems. Sincerely, OSAL B. CAPPS, State Forester. MISSOURI STATE PARK BOARD, Hon. GAYLORD NELSON, U.S. Senator, Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. DEAR SENATOR NELSON: Reference is made to your letter concerning proposed legislation to provide funds to utilize unemployed workers on conservation projects. If such funds were available, this department could use a considerable number of workers on State park projects. Specifically, these men could be used for routine park maintenance, timber improvement, road work, stream improvement, erosion control, and new park development. I would estimate that 100 man-years of work could be undertaken without extensive preparation. Problems could develop in such a program if the pay scale of these workers should be greater than those people presently employed by the State parks. This situation existed on some accelerated public works projects adjoining State parks. Unfortunately, the State parks pay scale is not as high as that paid by private enterprise. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact this office. FREDERICK J. BENDER. MISSOURI CONSERVATION COMMISSION, Hon. GAYLORD NELSON, DEAR SENATOR NELSON: This is in reply to your letter of May 29 concerning the use of unemployed workers on conservation projects. Our division of forestry already has given you an estimate of their requirements and pointed out some of the problems. We shall repeat their statement that our participation would depend largely on matching fund requirements. We are approaching a point where we probably could not justify a program of this type if it required as much as 50 percent State matching funds. Assuming a favorable matching ratio, our fisheries division probably could use 130 man-years of unskilled labor. Duties would consist of clearing brush, fencing, area cleanup, boundary marking, levee repair, stream improvement, and timber stand improvement. The work would be done at fish hatcheries, intensively managed trout streams, and public use areas. Our game division estimates the need for 125 man-years to perform timber stand improvement, brush control, area cleanup, wildlife trapping, farming, habitat improvement, and similar activities. This work would be performed on turkey refuges, waterfowl and upland game management areas, and deer management areas. Although this would not involve direct supervision by this department, we suggest that consideration be given to pollution control activities. Some arrangement might be made whereby the unemployed could work on new sewer lines and sewage disposal plants. The actual need for this is greater than for most of the things we have listed previously. We hope that these suggestions will be helpful. LARRY R. GALE, Assistant Director. ST. LOUIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION, Senator GAYLORD NELSON, Washington, D.O. DEAR SIR: We are most gratified to receive your inquiry concerning the possibility of our county park department participating in the Federal conservation projects. We enclose a data sheet summarizing essential work which could be accomplished through this medium. The list of jobs and personnel necessary to perform them is totally separate from our regular personnel functions; this work is clearly in addition to our normal maintenance and construction work available under our operating budget. The men would be used in the development of six large park areas for a period of at least 3 years, and the need might well be continued beyond that term when new park facilities are obtained. We do not have sufficient funds in our budget to provide for the labor force we have enumerated. We do have ample supervisory personnel and skilled craftsmen to provide the proper training for the contemplated work. Yours very truly, WAYNE C. KENNEDY, Commissioner. |