Solid Waste/General Services

General Services Division

Mission Statement:

To provide quality service to all City of Clearwater departments in the fields of Building & Maintenance, Fleet Maintenance, and Radio Communications, at the lowest possible cost.

Description of Services

General Support Services consists of 72 employees located at the General Services Complex, 1900 Grand Avenue. It is divided into five cost centers: Administration, Building and Maintenance, Fleet Operations, Fleet Replacement, and Radio Communications. The department strives to provide top-quality service to all City departments by focusing on efficiency and cost effectiveness so that our users (customers) can serve the citizens of the City of Clearwater as economically as possible.

Administration

Consists of the Director, Controller, and Administrative Analyst. Administration is responsible for executive oversight of the department, which includes the implementation of City policy, and operational and financial management.

The Building and Maintenance Division

Consists of 32 employees, and is responsible for the maintenance of all City facilities. This includes electrical, plumbing, air conditioning, carpentry, masonry, roofing, painting, and overseeing contractual services (e.g., custodial, elevator, glass cleaning, pest control, etc.). The City has 184 buildings, 500 air conditioners, and approximately 1,000,000 square feet, under roof.

Building and Maintenance also furnishes technical assistance to other departments on subjects such as lighting analysis, air conditioning load calculations, and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Division also reviews blueprints for new construction projects to insure construction methods and materials are of adequate quality so the City can maintain the structures cost effectively over the long term.

The Fleet Maintenance Division

Consists of 40 employees and is responsible for approximately 1,400 units of equipment, both on-road and off-road. The division is divided into seven sections for efficiency: Operations, Administration, Training, Light Truck-Automotive, Heavy Equipment-Small Engine, Solid Waste and Fabrication. The sections allow the mechanics to become more specialized and proficient with selected types of equipment rather than generalized across the City's diversified fleet.

Fleet's services include providing:

• Equipment Repair
  
• Fuel - vehicles travel nearly 4.5 million miles annually using approximately 650,000 gallons of fuel.
  
• Preventive maintenance service to extend equipment life and reduce costly repairs.
  
• Fabrication/modification to meet special departmental needs. Examples are special toolboxes, radio and light bar installation, and other special devices for safety and special operations.
  
• Warranty Repairs - Fleet Maintenance also serves as a warranty agent for several manufacturers, i.e. Heil, Peterbilt, and some Ford products. Fleet is authorized to perform warranty repairs on-site, saving time and travel. Fleet also can perform these repairs for neighboring municipalities.

Radio Communications

This section is responsible for approximately 1,450 units of equipment (portable, mobile, transmitters and associated radio equipment). Each radio technician is trained in the proper operation of the equipment. The division is responsible for maintaining all equipment to provide continuous service to customer departments.