Buildings and Grounds Laborer

About the role

Under the direction of the Buildings and Grounds Coordinator, the Buildings and Grounds Laborer performs a variety of unskilled and semi-skilled tasks in the maintenance of buildings and grounds.

Responsibilities

• Maintains District grounds at the main plant and lift stations by mowing, string trimming, clearing brush and debris, seeding, fertilizing, applying herbicides and pesticides, and maintains landscape by pruning, mulching, and weeding.
• Operates and cleans equipment, such as chainsaws, string trimmers, sprayers, lawn mowers, tractors, and pickup trucks.
• Performs routine maintenance such as changing filters, belts, blades, etc.
• Performs general cleaning of buildings and open-air below-ground tanks, including sweeping, shoveling, and power washing.
• Participates in snow removal in the plant and at lift stations.
• Participates in graffiti removal, painting, and other general buildings and grounds maintenance activities.
• Performs heavy manual labor for extended periods of time.
• Performs maintenance painting, landscaping, road, and building repairs.
• Responds to overtime and emergency calls at all hours.
• Performs work safely in accordance with departmental safety procedures and operates equipment safely; reports any unsafe work condition or practice to supervisor.

Requirements

• Must have graduated from a standard high school, trade school, or obtained a general education degree (GED).
• Must have considerable experience in varied maintenance and construction work.
• Fully qualified and licensed to operate trucks and mobile equipment on public streets.
• Must have considerable knowledge of common practices, methods, and materials of varied maintenance work.
• Must have considerable knowledge of the function, operation, and maintenance of the equipment used by the District in the assigned work.

Language Skills

• Must have the ability to read and comprehend simple instructions, work orders, short correspondence, and memos.
• Must have the ability to write simple correspondence.
• Must be able to effectively present information in one-on-one and small group situations.

Mathematical Skills

• Must have the ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.

Reasoning Ability

• Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, electronic, oral, or diagram form.
• Ability to deal with problems involving several variables in standardized situations.

Certificates, Licenses, and Registrations

• Valid Illinois license at hire date and a CDL Class B is required to be obtained before the end of the probationary period.
• State Commercial-Not-For-Hire Pesticide Operator license with appropriate pest control categories is required or must be obtained within 100 working days of hire.

Physical Demands

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk, hear, and read. The employee is frequently required to stand, walk (non-paved areas), sit, climb, balance, and use hands to handle or feel, reach with hands and arms, and smell. The employee is occasionally required to stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee may also be required to enter confined spaces and navigate construction in progress areas. The employee must frequently lift up to 50 pounds and occasionally lift or move 100 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, depth perception, peripheral vision, and the ability to adjust focus. The employee must routinely perform tasks requiring good muscular coordination, alertness, physical strength, agility, and stamina.

Work Environment

While performing the duties of this job, the employee frequently works near moving mechanical parts and in an environment typical of an activated sludge wastewater treatment plant facility. These conditions include wet, humid conditions (non-weather related), high precarious places, exposure to toxic and/or caustic conditions, risk of electrical shock, fumes, airborne particles, and outdoor weather conditions. The employee occasionally works within areas where there is the danger of explosion, electrical shock, and vibration. The noise level in the work environment is usually loud to very loud.

Illinois CDL Eligibility Requirements

• Must be 21 years old (18 years if all commercial driving is done within Illinois and if no hazardous materials requiring placarding are transported and if you do not drive double or triple trailer rigs).
• Must be physically capable (in accordance with the MCSR 49 CFR 391.41 Physical Qualifications for Drivers regulations) of obtaining a valid DOT medical examiner’s card before being issued a CDL permit or taking any CDL skills test.
• Must otherwise qualify for the license based on driving record. Any of the following will disqualify you from obtaining an Illinois CDL:
  • If you possess a license from any state other than Illinois.
  • If you are currently subject to any disqualification of your commercial driving privilege from Illinois or any other state.
  • If your license is currently suspended, revoked, denied, or cancelled.
  • If you have a conviction for operating a commercial motor vehicle while impaired in the 24 months immediately preceding application.