City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: NOVEMBER 28, 2023 FROM: GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT UPDATE AND EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION ISSUE:
Receive an update from the General Services Department, including employee recognition.
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council receive and file an update from the General Services Department, including employee recognition.
DISCUSSION:
The mission of the General Services Department is to provide timely, quality, and efficient internal support services to City departments. These services include Property Management, Facilities Maintenance, Fleet Management, Publishing Services, and Capital Projects. In addition to providing support services to other City departments, the General Services Department serves the public through the operations of the Riverside Municipal Airport and oversight of the independent Raincross Hospitality Corporation, which manages the activities of the Riverside Convention Center.
The primary goals of the General Services Department are to:
Ensure that the City’s facilities are safe, functional and comfortable.
Provide outstanding service to all customers.
Coordinate the City’s printing needs.
Develop a clean fleet and fuel strategy for City vehicles and the public.
Actively support economic development throughout the City through business-friendly leasing strategies at City properties and the Riverside Municipal Airport.
A brief overview of each General Services Department division and a summary of highlighted accomplishments is presented below.
Property Management
The Property Services Division, consisting of one full-time employee, is responsible for managing and leasing the City-owned Magnolia Place Shopping Center and cell towers throughout the city, as well as coordinating maintenance and clean-ups as needed for surplus City properties.
Recent accomplishments include:
Completed multiple lease modifications/site upgrades for the Cell Tower Program.
Executed new leases for multiple tenants at the Magnolia Place Shopping Center, including post-COVID rent repayment plans as approved by the City Council.
Completed deferred maintenance repairs at the Magnolia Place Shopping Center including parking lot asphalt repairs, in-ground parking lot water leak repairs.
Prepared bid documents to replace all roofing at the Magnolia Place Shopping Center.
Facilities Maintenance
The Building Service Division, consisting of 20 full-time employees, maintains the function, appearance and security of over 1.4 million square feet of City buildings. This Division also provides project management services for improvements to existing facilities.
Recent accomplishments include:
Completed multiple Measure Z – Annual Deferred Maintenance funded projects totaling over $1,000,000 at various city facilities, including City Hall, police and fire stations, libraries, Riverside Public Utilities buildings, Museum facilities and the Corporation Yard. Deferred maintenance projects include roof repairs and/or replacements, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) repairs and chiller replacements, and major plumbing and electrical systems replacement and/or repairs.
Closed out approximately 350 emergency and routine preventive maintenance work order requests submitted for HVAC, electrical, plumbing, doors and other facilities repairs.
Facilitated Council award of City-wide security services agreement with Allied Universal Security Services to provide unarmed security guard services at multiple City facilities for an initial 2-year term, with options to extend for two (2) additional two-year terms.
Fleet Management
The Central Garage Division, consisting of 42 full-time employees, is responsible for purchasing and maintaining the City’s fleet vehicles and managing the motor pool and auto stores functions. The Division provides alternative, energy efficient fueling options for City vehicles and the general public.
Recent accomplishments include:
Recognized as the No. 1 Green Fleet in North America by the National Association of Fleet Administrators. This recognition is based on the City’s use of alternative fuel and hybrid vehicle composition, fuel usage and savings, purchasing policy, long-range planning, and community outreach.
Utilizing cooperative purchasing agreements, facilitated the replacement of approximately 40 pieces of medium and heavy-duty rolling stock for various City departments, including utility trucks, towing vehicles, dump trucks, aerial lifts, refuse trucks, street sweepers and vactor trucks.
Performed required repairs and preventative maintenance on fleet vehicles, including police and fire, to ensure vehicles are in safe operating condition and in compliance with state and local emissions regulations.
Issued a Request for Proposals for assistance in developing the City’s Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) Fleet Transition Plan. This effort will entail a comprehensive system wide assessment of ZEV needs for the City and recommend a strategy for a phased vehicle purchase and replacement process, inclusive of necessary fueling and charging infrastructure. It is anticipated that this item will be brought to the City Council for consideration first quarter 2024.
Publishing Services
The Publishing Services Division, consisting of three full-time employees, processes the City’s mail and daily routing and assists with printing materials.
Recent accomplishments include:
Printed and compiled agenda packets for City Council meetings, City Council Standing Committee meetings, Boards and Commission meetings and other public meetings.
Printed all monthly Riverside Public Utilities billings and inserts.
Capital Projects
The Capital Projects Division, consisting of three full-time employees, provides project management services for various City departments. This team manages minor capital projects, such as small roof repairs, flooring replacements and facility rehabilitation, and plans and oversees major capital projects such as renovation and construction of essential city facilities.
Recent accomplishments include:
Progressing with schematic design for the new Eastside Library.
Finalizing Architectural Phase 1 Design Services for the new Police Headquarters.
Issued a Request for Proposals for Architectural Design Services for renovation of the Cesar Chavez Community Center.
Progressing with Architectural Construction Drawings for the Museum Renovation and Expansion project.
Completed roof repairs at the historic Fox Theater.
Riverside Municipal Airport
The Airport Division, consisting of eight full-time employees, is responsible for ensuring safe municipal and corporation aviation operations, oversees the Airport leasing program, manages the Airport capital improvement program, and provides administration of Federal Aviation Administration policies and procedures. The Airport is home to more than 200 based aircraft and seven flight schools offering advanced fixed wing and helicopter training, and two full-service aircraft maintenance facilities.
Recent accomplishments include:
Issued a Request for Proposals to develop and operate up to 18 acres of land at Riverside Municipal Airport for aeronautical purposes. The aviation facilities developed may include aircraft hangars, aircraft maintenance facilities, a fuel farm, a Fixed Base Operator, and aircraft ramp parking.
Added one full-time Airport Operations Specialist position and one full-time Airport Custodian position to better meet the needs of tenants and provide enhanced security coverage.
General Services Employee Recognition
The General Services Department holds a “Spring Fling” luncheon celebration each year to recognize employee service milestones, department accomplishments and to name one or more employees of the year. The 2023 General Services Department Employees of the Year are Administrative Analyst Jessica Spiking, and Senior Office Specialist Rachel Dangerfield.
Administrative Analyst Jessica Spiking has been with the General Services Department, Central Garage Division for over 3 years. She is the 2023 Employee of the Year in recognition of her consistently high-quality work drafting all fleet related Council reports and presentations, managing fleet grants, preparing monthly fleet billings, and serving as the City’s ADA Coordinator and staff liaison for the Commission on Disabilities.
Senior Office Specialist Rachel Dangerfield has been with the General Services Department, Central Garage Division for over 4 years. She is the 2023 General Services Employee of the Year in recognition of her good customer service skills provided to fleet customers in person and on the phone, as well as her dedication to continually developing her knowledge in Fleet operations.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
The General Services Department contributes to Strategic Priority 4 – Environmental Stewardship and Goal 4.6 – Implement the requisite measures to achieve citywide carbon neutrality no later than 2040, as well as Strategic Priority 6 – Infrastructure, Mobility & Connectivity and Goal 6.2 – Maintain, protect and improve assets and infrastructure within the City’s built environment to ensure and enhance reliability, resiliency, sustainability and facilitate connectivity.
This item aligns with EACH of the five Cross-Cutting Threads as follows:
Community Trust – General Services projects are discussed and considered in a public forum at a City Council, Board or Commission meeting, helping to ensure transparency and accountability.
Equity – The General Services Department provides equitable support services to City departments as needed.
Fiscal Responsibility – Competitive procurements are used to secure the lowest cost for materials/services, and in-house management of the City’s maintenance and capital projects provides a budget savings.
Innovation – General Services works collaboratively with City departments to leverage resources and save time on maintenance and capital projects.
Sustainability & Resiliency – General Services is nationally recognized as a Green Fleet leader, as recognized by the National Association of Fleet Administrators.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this presentation.
Prepared by: Carl Carey, General Services Director
Certified as to
availability of funds: Kristie Thomas, Finance Director/Assistant Chief Financial Officer Approved by: Edward Enriquez, Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney
Attachments: Presentation
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