Committee approves posting for buildings-and-grounds director as staffing shortages loom

The County Property Committee agreed to post the position for the buildings‑and‑grounds director and discussed staffing gaps and wages in the maintenance department.

Committee members and staff said the new director will need strong project‑management skills and the ability to act as the county’s owner’s representative on architectural and engineering projects. “The person that you’re gonna try to get here has to manage all these things. He’s gotta have experience. He’s gotta be a project manager,” Bob (buildings and grounds supervisor) told the committee during the job‑description discussion.

The committee unanimously agreed to move the job posting forward. “As a whole, we’re all in agreement with it to move forward,” a committee member said; staff confirmed the position will be posted.

Staff also briefed members on near‑term staffing changes: Tony (maintenance) plans to leave in July (committee cited July 31 as his last day) and Bob said he expects to remain through November to help transition major projects. Committee members raised concerns about difficulty recruiting skilled maintenance staff at current union wages and noted the county has been relying on outside contractors at high hourly costs when in‑house capacity is limited.

Why it matters: the director role is central to managing ongoing capital, HVAC and security projects discussed elsewhere on the agenda; losing experienced maintenance staff without timely replacements would increase reliance on contractors and raise operating costs.

Next steps: staff will post the director vacancy and proceed with the hiring process; committee members asked that interview panels and selected stakeholders consider the candidate’s project management and engineering interface experience. No hiring decision was made at the meeting.