Building Services Overview

To provide quality operational and maintenance activities as cost effectively as possible and to respond to service requests from our customers in a timely fashion in order to preserve facilities for future use by employees, visitors, and citizens.

On December 9, 2003, the responsibilities of the Building Services Division was transferred to this Department. Prior to that time, the Department of Facilities Management performed Maintenance of County-owned buildings and facilities.

Activities of the Division include building services, facilities management, capital improvements, custodial services, grounds maintenance, building security, space utilization, utilities, asset management and loss prevention for approximately 756,000 square feet of facilities.

Overview

The main objective of the Building Services Division of the Department of Public Works & Transportation is to ensure that all County-maintained building projects are being constructed and maintained according to the latest technologies and at reasonable costs. The Facilities Division is responsible for all aspects of the County’s buildings and grounds. Responsibilities include building maintenance, capital / non-capital improvement, custodial services, facilities management, grounds maintenance, building security, space utilization, utilities, asset management and loss prevention. We also clean, maintain and make capital building improvements. The Building Services Division employs 13 full-time employees. and also utilizes local contractors to provide support to employees. At the onset of calendar year 2004, this Division provides grounds and buildings maintenance and custodial services for about 90 County buildings / facilities encompassing 755,905 square feet. These buildings must remain safe, healthy, accessible, and conform to all current codes and health / safety requirements. Division personnel are also on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week to respond to emergency situations. The Division strives to meet the increasing demands of aging / historic / new buildings, increased building inventory, more complex building systems and higher material / labor costs within the fiscal constraints approved for operations.

Building Services maintains all of the County owned and/or leased facilities which include: 29 major buildings; 52 minor buildings; and 9 incidental facilities. Activities include janitorial services, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, and painting repairs, and utility costs for all buildings maintained by or reimbursed to the County. Additionally, over 28,350 square feet of sidewalk, 6 STS bus shelters, 18 emergency generators, and airport / airfield lighting are administered through this Division. Effective November 20, 2006, the Division of Building Services will conduct the required Fire and Evacuation Drills in all County Buildings. Building Services has developed a schedule and will conduct two unannounced Fire Drills per year in each building. Refer to the attached Fire Drill Procedures for additional information.

Functions

The primary functions of the Building Services Division are:

To plan, monitor and maintain all buildings and incidental structures that have been entrusted to the Department.
To ensure that all fiscal requirements for the proper maintenance of these facilities are requested annually.
To monitor, coordinate and effect corrective system upgrades / repairs based on available funding.
To coordinate with building clients users with respect to incidental work order and space needs requests.
To prioritize preventive and programmatic repair programs for all county-maintained buildings.
To provide technical evaluations of new building and renovation designs undertaken by consultants.
To coordinate maintenance programs with lease requirements identified by the Real Property Manager.
To perform life cycle and conditions assessments and report deficiencies in building and infrastructure.
To supervise certain building project and offer professional recommendations on building maintenance.
To provide technical advice to all Government department and agencies.

Facility Rental

It is the intent of the Commissioners of St. Mary's County to allow non-profit groups, local units of government, and county residents use of available public meeting areas, buildings and grounds whenever feasible, provided the use presents no maintenance problems and presents no additional liability to the County. Permission to use County buildings, facilities and public areas of the County shall be requested by completing a Facilities Rental Contract and Cover Sheet.

The authorized user shall be responsible for all clean up following the conclusion of the meeting. If custodial services are required after conclusion of an event, the costs for this service will be borne by the user. Permission to use a County facility or land is limited to the approved room(s) or space described in the Contract, which all users shall be required to execute. The Lessor may also require the approval and/or review by the Building Services, Recreation & Parks or Risk Management Divisions of the County.