CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Clarksville Parks & Rec’s Grounds and Facilities Maintenance crew received a much-needed facilities upgrade of their own.
For years, Grounds & Facilities Maintenance has worked out of 1210 Franklin Street, which doubles as the City Garage. Until recently, it had no air conditioning, limited office space, inadequate restrooms and only a small break room.
Of the department’s 37 core employees and 10 seasonal positions, approximately 20 work at the Franklin Street facility.
Roughly 10 years ago, the City purchased a large prefabricated metal building to augment the Franklin Street garage. The project lay dormant until 2016 when the structure was finally assembled; however, construction was never completed.
Rodney Ammons inherited the project three months ago as the new Grounds & Facilities Maintenance Manager. Under his leadership, the old garage was assigned as storage space. The newer building was upgraded to include 2,000 square feet of office space, a break room, and restrooms.
Further upgrades have been made to the plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems.
In two months, Ammons and his team created a modern, functional workplace. Maintenance specialists Brandon West, James Barrineau and Crew Chief Charles Simon consistently put in voluntary overtime to complete the project.
“We started construction in late April, and we’ve made a lot of progress,” Ammons said. “This is a busy time, and we’re keeping up with a couple hundred parks and building work orders a month. In the fall and winter, we should be able to make more progress on organizing the workshop and other spaces.”
Mayor Joe Pitts has been impressed by the progress on improving the work space.
“Improving this facility was clearly needed,” Mayor Pitts said. “Rodney put together a good plan, and we were able to free up some resources for overtime and supplies. I appreciate the pride and extra effort this group has put into the project.”