For the third time in four months, the Selma Parks and Recreation Department has a new director.

Sean VanDiver was named the department’s new interim director Nov. 7, replacing Carneetie Ellison, who is back to serving in her previous role as administrative assistant. Ellison had taken over as director in August, following the resignation of interim director Lebo Jones.

VanDiver isn’t sure whether his new role will be long-term or temporary.

“We don’t know yet. The city and mayor are making an assessment of all the different departments, and we are going to do what’s best for the citizens of Selma,” VanDiver said.

In his first three weeks on the job, VanDiver said the recreation department has done a lot of work. The department has cleaned all of the city’s recreation areas, including edging the sidewalk and cleaning up swimming pools and walking trails.

“We’ve done a lot of work in the last three weeks,” VanDiver said.

But the work sounds like it’s just beginning.

VanDiver said the recreation department had to condemn the visitors’ bleachers at Memorial Stadium. Earlier this month, the bleachers were seen covered with caution tape so that people wouldn’t sit on them.

Later this week, the field at Memorial Stadium will receive a new crown, the raised area of the field that allows for draining.

“We have things in place to get the stadium up. We play a lot of high school games on it, play a lot of pee wee games on it, play a lot of middle school games on it, so throughout the season it turns into a mud pit,” VanDiver said. “We are in the process of getting that area rebuilt, getting the proper drainage and crown set on the field and getting it back square the way it needs to be.”

The bathrooms at Bloch Park will also be worked on in the upcoming weeks. They were damaged during the flooding last December. VanDiver said the city is in the process of taking bids to get them repaired.

“My opinion is the citizens deserve excellence, and we are going to achieve it. Our motto is fix one thing a day,” VanDiver said.

VanDiver spent 16 years in railroad management with Norfolk Southern Railroad and the Canadian National Railroad. He moved to Selma with the railroad and opened an Allstate Insurance branch on Lauderdale Street. That office is now closed as VanDiver works in city government.

He’s married to Kewanda VanDiver and has five children.

VanDiver has high hopes for the future of the recreation department. He’d like to see part of the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s state track meet come back to Selma. The AHSAA’s 1A-3A track meet was held in Selma from 2012-2014, but Cullman received the most recent contract.

He said the city is also working to get softball tournaments to Selma.

He said with the hotels available and the facilities in Selma, the city should be an attractive option.