Park Board fills long-vacant assistant director role

Last edited 3:54 p.m., June 1, 2015

The Springfield-Greene County Park Board filled a position vacant since May 2012.

Jim Fisher starts today as assistant director of parks. The position was left open by Bob Belote, who was promoted to director three years ago, according to a news release.

Fisher's salary is $78,749, according to Park Board spokeswoman Jenny Fillmer Edwards.

Fisher, who has over 30 years of public parks administration experience, most recently served as director of the Clay County Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Sites, according to the release.

“Jim has a vast amount of experience in parks administration, including serving as director of parks at both the city and county level, which is unique experience that fits us very well, given the Park Board’s city-county affiliation,” Belote said in the release. “He’s very familiar with park safety and security, he has supervised golf operations, and he’s successfully developed and implemented parks sales tax initiatives.”

As assistant director, Fisher is tasked with overseeing the Park Board’s human resources, golf division, park rangers, business operations, Springfield Lasers tennis team, special facilities, Jordan Valley Park and the ongoing departmental accreditation process.