Rolfsness’ accomplishments acclaimed
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At the Monday meeting of the Ronan City Council Sept. 30, the decision was made to eliminate the current park maintenance worker position for one year only to balance the 2013-14 City of Ronan budget. The motion designated the Public Works staff to take care of the duties listed in the park maintenance worker job description.
As a member of the Ronan City Parks Board and the recipient of the dedication of the park in 2004 when I retired as city clerk, I would like to acknowledge the accomplishments and thank the park maintenance worker, Jennifer Rolfsness. In her tenure with the City of Ronan Parks Department, Jennifer has worked tirelessly to see that the park is one of the destination points for our community, serving not only the local citizens, but area visitors and travelers passing through.
Because of her love of the outdoors and her commitment to children and healthy lifestyles, Jenn has reached far beyond the scope of park maintenance worker without a lot of fanfare or recognition, and I would like to acknowledge some of the things she has contributed to this community.
She has been the Ronan City Court Clerk for ten years and has willingly sat in as acting judge when necessary.
She was a successful liaison between the State Highway Department and the Ronan Public Works director during the initial design phase of the highway project planned through the City of Ronan, she helped develop the plan for the storm drainage to keep it out of Spring Creek, working closely with the Salish and Kootenai Tribe, and she has been an important cog in keeping communications open between the City of Ronan and county, state, and federal agencies. She has done everything from driving a dump truck, snow plowing, and washing the streets to personally caring for the homeless, tending to the ducks and geese in the park, and coaching soccer.
She has initiated the International Walk to School Day in October that involves anywhere from 200 to 300 kids, parents, volunteers, etc., organized the Community Earth Day which involves around 300-400 people. She has helped organize and provide equipment and prizes for the K.W. Harvey Elementary School Bicycle Safety Days in the spring of each year which provides helmets to all 3rd and 4th graders at KWH in an effort to “Think smart — protect your brain.”
She is responsible for the Montana Safe Routes to School program in Ronan which has been featured in their brochures and flyers as having one of the most successful SRTS programs in the state.
She was responsible for obtaining funds for the walking path through the park along with the bicycle/pedestrian path on the east side of town on Buchanan and Fourth to Terrace Lake Road. These were in conjunction with Safe Routes to School and Lake County CTEP funds.
Jenn was instrumental in developing the master plan for the Ronan Parks in which we identified and prioritized the park needs for the present and future. With the help of David Rockwell, she guided us through the process and also with his help designed an interactive website for the Ronan Parks Department at www.ronanparks.net which includes our master plan and an interactive map.
Through her contacts with the staff of Gametime and Great Western she has developed designs for display models to showcase our proposed project for three interactive play pockets to be installed in the park. The first pocket will be a Woodlands Pocket that has been bid out with bids accepted and approved by the Ronan City Council. She has been instrumental in helping with fundraising plans for this project which include sale of bricks, benches and concrete pads as well as soliciting larger donors for ongoing support and earmarked funds.
Jenn has a degree in recreation management from the University of Montana and has raised approximately $600,000 through grants and fundraisers to benefit the City of Ronan and its area youth.
Thank you, Jenn for what you have accomplished for the City of Ronan in your years of service with the City. I am hoping that your love of Ronan will encourage you to continue with involvement in the ongoing projects and services that are so necessary in making Ronan and the surrounding area a great place to live. It would be tough to do it without your help.
