BLYTHEWOOD – The Town is looking for a director for its conference center (the Manor) and Doko Meadows Park.
According to the job posting on the Town website, this is a senior administrative and management position that will be responsible for directing and managing the operations of Doko Manor, Doko Meadows Park and overseeing the town’s event schedule.
Council recently discussed the need to make the Manor self-sufficient. It has not been since it opened in 2013. The town supplemented the Manor’s revenue until a few years ago, when it moved the Manor’s budget into the general fund.
Councilman Rich McKenrick said doing so only hid what was going on with the Manor financially. He said he would like to see it pulled back out of the general fund.
“Even if it’s supplemented by the general fund, at least we could see a very cut and dried picture of what’s going on with the Manor,” he said.
Revenues for the Manor have plummeted from $346,430 in FY 2022 to $237,461 in FY 2023 to a projected $173,828 in FY 2024.
“Our FY 2024-25 revenue is projected to be $200,000, but expenses are projected to increase to $360,000 in FY 2025…a deficit of $160,000,” Councilman Donald Brock noted at town council’s April 22 budget workshop.
Former Town Administrator Carroll Williamson offered at that meeting that, “…the increases [in expenses] are due to salary increases.”
The combined salaries for the full-time Manor employee and a former full-time employee are projected to increase from $120,053 ($112,368 salary plus $8,485 cost of living) in FY 2024 to $130,077 ($126,289 salary plus $3,788 for a 3 percent merit increase) in FY 2025 – an increase of $10,024. The Town will also pay out another $54,278 for health insurance, retirement, and a proposed $500 each for gym memberships for a total of $185,355 for salary and benefits – not including vacation, holidays and sick days – for two full time employees in FY 2025.
“We’ve got to figure out a way to cut expenses and up the revenue,” Brock said. McKenrick agreed.
The open position for the director requires:
- a bachelor’s degree in business administration, parks and recreation management, hospitality management or a related field or
- a minimum of five years of experience in business and facilities management, event planning, program development, supervision, budgeting, accounting, sales, marketing, and customer relations, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
- strong communication, organizational, and interpersonal and customer service
For a full job description and application form, go to townofblythewood@sc.gov or call town hall at 803-754-0501 for more information.