City previews plan to hire custodial and maintenance staff for new facility; administration cites control, emergency access and cost tradeoffs

The Department of Administrative Services told the Committee of the Whole on Sept. 22 that it recommends hiring five service maintenance worker I city employees to provide custodial and general maintenance for the city's new 130,000‑square‑foot facility rather than continuing an external vendor contract.

Department staff said the recommendation follows an internal staffing study and meetings with project managers and the mayor. The request would fill two previously budgeted service maintenance worker II positions (including a foreman vacancy created by an internal promotion) and add five service maintenance worker I roles to perform custodial duties and basic maintenance tasks such as changing light bulbs. The presentation noted the city's civil service process requires a competitive test for these civil‑service positions and the administration intends to start that process in October so hires could be in place in December or January.

Staff presented an explicit cost comparison: the current vendor contract that covers City Hall, the Senior Center and…