The Parks and Recreation Department provides residents and visitors with more than 41,000 acres of desert parks and mountain preserves. The parks feature 41 trailheads and more than 200 miles of trails, and 185 city parks. Additionally, there are 32 community and recreation centers, classes, and sports programs for all ages, 29 pools, eight golf courses, and a variety of specialty and cultural venues and facilities.
The fundamental reason this classification exists is to perform maintenance of parks, or other landscaped areas. Some positions exercise lead responsibilities over unskilled employees. The groundskeeper assignment is responsible for maintaining the attractiveness and cleanliness of the parks and preserve areas. Typical duties include removing trash, trimming trees and removing the branches, raking leaves, pulling weeds, sweeping, mopping, cleaning and stocking restrooms, offices, and shared areas. Other duties include painting, operating and maintaining small power tools such as lawn mowers, trimmers, edgers, and hedgers, digging holes, planting trees and vegetation. Weekend and holiday coverage is required. Candidates that are hired for this position will be hired for the Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area and South Mountain Park.
