Parks Maintenance & Public Works Helper

The City is seeking a hardworking, dependable individual to join our team as a Park Maintenance and Public Works Helper. This is an excellent entry-level opportunity for someone who enjoys hands-on outdoor work and wants to build a career in public service. 

This position supports multiple City departments and involves a wide variety of manual and semi-skilled tasks. Duties include maintaining parks and landscaped areas; such as mowing, planting, irrigation and general groundskeeping. As well as the maintenance of the City's water, street, and stormwater systems. Tasks may involve repairs, cleaning, inspections and routine upkeep. Work rotates seasonally among Parks Maintenance, Water, and Street/Storm/Sewer divisions, and some task my be performed independently once trained. 

Include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

Assists cleaning sewer and storm lines and utility holes, catch basins, water quality facilities and other related assets. 

Assists with annual pavement maintenance program work, providing traffic control, monitoring traffic flow, preparing roadways for sealing activities.

Performs roadside vegetation work, including tree and shrub pruning, weeding and raking, spreading mulch, and watering plants as assigned.

Performs manual labor such as digging ditches, installing and maintaining street signs, removing obstacles and debris from roadway and adjacent areas, and hand-loading and unloading all types of material.

Performs general grounds keeping and landscaping duties in City parks and grounds. This includes mowing, hedging, watering, planting, pruning, weeding, and leaf removal. 

Performs general janitorial/maintenance duties, including public restroom cleaning and garbage/litter collection and pickup at City parks. 

Conducts flushing of water system through operation of fire hydrants.

Responds to basic utility billing and customer service requests, including tasks such as meter reading, placing door hangers, meter replacement, or meter box repair.

Performs basic maintenance on water system assets, including hydrant painting, button replacement, and valve turning. 

Operates equipment such as hand tools, blowers, hedgers and weed trimmers, mowers, small utility vehicles, chainsaw and chipper. 

Operates a City vehicle to drive to job sites.

Utilizes a computer, tablet, and/or cell phone to complete assessments, track work activities, and communicate with supervisor or other members of the crew.

SUPERVISION: Reports to the Parks Maintenance Manager, but will receive supervision from the Water Manager and Street/Storm/Sewer Manager as the position rotates seasonally. May receive task direction from division lead workers on various job sites. Supervision of other employees is not a responsibility of this position.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Language Skills: Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals.  

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations: Possession of a valid Oregon Driver's License. Must be able to obtain traffic control certification within 6 months of hire. 

Technical Skills and Abilities:  Ability to follow oral and written instruction. Ability to perform strenuous, manual tasks and to withstand exposure to variable weather conditions.  Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with other employees and the general public.  Ability to perform tasks in a safe and efficient manner.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE:  Experience in or general knowledge of general maintenance and construction work, and sufficient education to ensure the ability to read and write.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT: The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, twist, talk and hear. The employee is frequently required to climb or balance. The employee is occasionally required to sit and smell. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds, occasionally lift and/or move up to 60 pounds, and at times lift up to 85 lbs. The employee is regularly required to push and pull with up to 100 lbs of force, and occasionally with up to 150 lbs. of force. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly exposed to fumes or airborne particles and outside weather conditions. The employee is frequently exposed to moving mechanical parts and vibration. The employee is occasionally exposed to high, precarious places; toxic or caustic chemicals and risk of electrical shock. The noise level in the work environment is usually loud to very loud.

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