County facilities director outlines year of repairs, new janitorial and communications upgrades

Amanda Kimball, director of facilities management, told the Board of Supervisors she was presenting “just some updates over this last year” on the county’s newly formed facilities management department. Kimball outlined work by communications, janitorial and maintenance crews and said the office is contracting rewiring and replacing decades‑old radio and repeater equipment.

Kimball said the communications group, staffed with three people, supports phones, radios, repeaters and the 911 system and has been “upgrading all of our equipment,” including a fire command repeater system upgrade and replacement of 30‑plus‑year repeaters. She said the county installed “about 50 radios in vehicles” for the sheriff’s and probation departments and county fire agencies, and that the sheriff’s radios were moved to P25 encryption standards.

The director described fiber installations to bring new public‑health and social‑services buildings online and a planned, multi‑month project to rewire the government center with Category‑6 cabling. Kimball said the rewiring contract was awarded to World Telecom and that her teams performed significant wiring work for a dispatch move to the courthouse basement.

Kimball also described the janitorial team as eight staff members with two additional hires planned to service “20 plus buildings” and highlighted before‑and‑after work on carpet and floor wax. She said the maintenance group of six responded to 858 maintenance requests in fiscal year 2024–25, from small sign installs to HVAC and roof work, and listed several projects completed or in progress: roof repairs after winter leaks, plumbing repairs for a galvanized service line to a county building, remodeling the former courtroom into an IT office, new carpet and insulation abatement in victim‑witness services, HVAC work for the administration roof and added offices at the Charlie Bird facility.

County Administrator Angela Davis thanked Kimball and staff, calling the newly formed department a “pure victory” and noting the county had lacked an in‑house janitorial department before the pilot program. Supervisors and other board members who spoke praised cleaner restrooms, improved landscaping and the visible condition of the government center; several asked for a future briefing on a facilities master plan for the government center and annex buildings.

Kimball said once the initial backlog of deep‑maintenance tasks is complete, janitorial and flooring work will move to an annual preventive maintenance cycle. She identified staff members involved by first name — Todd in communications, Hannah, Scott, Jennifer and Amy on operations — and thanked them for overtime work on the dispatch and repeater projects.

Members of the board emphasized continued oversight and asked for updates on large projects and on bids for planned HVAC and electrical changes at other county properties. No formal action or vote was taken during the presentation.

The facilities team will continue planned rewiring and infrastructure updates over the next six to 12 months, with a separate follow‑up requested by board members on a facilities master plan for the government center and annex.