MANVILLE: Cornelson hired in recreation job

Does parttime borough job conflict with her Board of Education post?

By Mary Ellen Day, Special Writer
   Manville Recreation has a new director following the Borough Council’s 4-1 vote Monday night to hire acting Recreation Director Stephanie Cornelson for the parttime job.
   She will replace Richard Armstrong, the 17-year fulltime recreation director who resigned in October, when he resigned following allegations he had been drinking beer on school grounds during a May softball tournament at least partially sponsored by the recreation department.
   Councilman Steve Szabo was the lone no vote and Councilwoman Susan Asher was absent from the meeting. Mr. Szabo made a motion to pull the resolution from voting but there was no second.
   Resident Rudy Nowak spoke during the public portion against the hiring of Ms. Corneslon, who is a member of the borough Board of Education.
   ”Last summer, there was a controversy in this community regarding the recreation director. Are we rewarding somebody involved in the controversy?” he asked.
   Mayor Corradino replied that Ms. Cornelson was the one who reported it and that it was in the past. “The person that we are hiring was not involved in the controversy; she was the one who resolved it.”
   Mr. Nowak pointed out that Ms. Cornelson failed in her duty as a Board of Education member and a citizen and report the incident earlier, but Mayor Corradino said her hiring was “rewarding her for her hard work. She was the one who brought it to a head and she was the one who reported it.”
   The mayor said that Ms. Cornelson in the acting director’s position was doing a “phenomenal job.”
   The resolution also authorized hiring of two parttime deputy recreation directors to manage the sports and pool programs.
   The annual rate of pay for the Recreation Director shall be $30,000 with no health benefits. The position requires a minimum of 15 public hours per week in the office and a total of 28 hours per week performing duties. She will report to Borough Administrator Gary Garwacke. A two-week paid vacation is included.
   The sports coordinator would have off two weeks at a time between seasons. The suggested salary would be $12,000 for a 12- to 15-hour work week. Three sports coordinators would work on a flexible schedule for $1,000 each.
   A pool director would be scheduled to work five hours per week during March, April and May to prepare for the pool season for $1,500 and $12,000 for a 40-hour work week for 12 weeks in June, July and August.
   The salaries of the six employees for the positions would come to $58,500, which is slightly less than the $60,000 a year paid to Mr. Armstrong.
   Manville was advised to hire parttime employees in a report by the consultant firm Jersey Professional Management of Cranford.
   ”Manville is fortunate to have several individuals that are currently actively involved in Manville’s recreation programs and are also Manville Borough residents. They are likely to be able to fill the three parttime recreation positions as listed,” said the report by Dan Mason, president of JPM.