The Public Buildings Division of the Public Works Department is charged with the responsibility for “maintenance, construction and repair of municipal buildings.” This extensive task encompasses over 60 active buildings, and 7,700 pieces of mechanical equipment. The Public Buildings Department strives to provide a pleasant and comfortable environment for the operation of effective government, education, public safety and enjoyment. Our goal is to provide facilities services in a timely and effective manner.

This division serves all public buildings, which include City Hall, Police headquarters, fire stations, Public Schools, Public Library and Tech Center, Elmwood Hall, Veterans Hall, Old Jail, Old Library, Head Start Building, the public works complex, and the public parks buildings to name a few buildings. The staffing for this division includes a Superintendent, a Foreman, six state licensed trades personnel (two electricians, one steamfitter, three plumbers), one mason- carpenter, one general maintenance mechanic, one custodian II (for City Hall), and one Secretary-Bookkeeper; we currently have four vacant positions. This small but highly dedicated staff provides 24/7 maintenance, repair and emergency facility service to all municipal departments and tenants housed in our city buildings and schools.

In this fiscal year, the Public Building Division received 2267 requests for maintenance service some of which is in addition to planned preventative maintenance work and completed 1902 requests for service. The division attempts to perform as much maintenance and repair work as possible with its licensed staff. Additional assistance for major repairs and special tasks that cannot be handled by staff is provided through contractual arrangement with local professional contractors.

In addition to repair and maintenance services, the staff of Public Buildings performs or manages minor alteration projects that save the City of Danbury significant dollars that would otherwise be paid to contractors.  Examples of more recent projects, which vary in size and scope, are:

• Renovation of the Chow House at Farrington Park.
• Design and Construction of the Library Innovation Center.
• Repair of the Boilers at Morris Street School and Great Plain School.
• HVAC Controls Integration at ACE.

As the division is responsible for facilities services, it also strives to achieve energy efficient buildings. The Public Buildings Division operates and maintains building operation and energy management systems for city buildings and public schools, as well as communication {telephone, cell phone and voice mail} services.

Several projects that were planned in 2013 will be managed by Public Buildings and executed in 2014.

They are:

• Replacement of the roof at Morris Street School.
• Replacement of the roof at Great Plain School.
• Replacement of the roof at the Old Jail (top of the mansard).
• Replacement of the roof at the Educational Services Center.
• Renovation to the Boiler Plant at City Hall.

I am pleased to report that our on-line computerized building management system continues to provide a quick and simple method for requesting maintenance and repair service. City department heads and authorized school personnel have the ability to electronically send work requests to our maintenance management server and schedule their work. Authorized personnel may enter work requests into our system, track their progress, and receive custom status reports. This system has increased divisional responsiveness, accountability and productivity.