The Chilmark Select Board approved the creation of a new facilities manager position that will oversee the maintenance and cleaning of town buildings. The position was reviewed during the board’s Tuesday meeting, as the town moves into the final phases of construction of a new fire station.
The town’s human resources board will review the full-time job description before it’s posted.
The draft job description reads that the new hire would be “responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of town facilities (other than regional school, town docks, and CTAC structures — unless agreed to by Select Board), in consultation and cooperation with all department heads, to assure their upkeep and repair.”
The facilities manager will supervise custodial staff and contractors on town buildings. The job duties and responsibilities are extensive, and the town will be seeking an individual with HVAC, electrical, engineering, construction, and managerial experience.
The select board expected the job listing to circulate for two months. They hope to hire an individual by mid-May, which will coincide with the completion of the fire station and emergency medical services building construction. The new hire will be responsible for overseeing these two new buildings, in addition to other existing town buildings and facilities like town hall, the library, police station, and the harbor office.
The construction of the two new town buildings “seems to be moving along well,” according to select board member Bill Rossi. The board estimated a completion date of May 15 for the fire station, and June 1 for the EMS building. “They’re going to last a long time,” said Rossi.
Select board member Jim Malkin and Rossi expressed the importance of having a site representative throughout the process, noting what a diligent and thorough job the site rep seems to be doing in terms of checking in with construction workers to ensure that design plans were being properly followed. Malkin called the site rep’s reports “terrific.”
A commissioning agent will be coming onboard shortly to ensure that plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems in the new buildings are functioning and built according to plan. Rossi said the commissioning agent was a $30,000 contract position, which he said was “money well spent.” Rossi said it’s “short money for the building we’re going to get. I think it’s going to be there a long time.”
The town took out a $3 million loan to fund the planning and construction of the two new buildings. Select board member Warren Doty stated that despite the size of this loan, in addition to the town having paid off other past loans, the loans for the new buildings fit perfectly into the town’s budget. Doty commended the team for “good capital planning,” stating that the 2023 budget was slated to be $7,000 under the 2022 budget amount.
The two new buildings are located at Beetlebung Corner in Chilmark. The job listing for the new town facilities manager position is forthcoming, upon being approved by the human resources board of Chilmark.
