Vermilion County Building & Grounds

The Building and Grounds Department is responsible for the repair, maintenance and upkeep of the following buildings: Health & Education, located at 2 East South Street; Vermilion County Courthouse Annex, located at 6 North Vermilion Street; Vermilion County Department of Animal Regulation and Shelter, located 14775 Catlin Tilton Road; Vermilion County Emergency Management, located at 2507 Georgetown Road; and the Vermilion County Highway Department, located at 2732 Batestown Road. The Vermilion County Courthouse, located at 7 North Vermilion Street has shared maintenance provided by the Danville Public Building Commission and our department. Vermilion Manor Nursing Home, located at 14792 Catlin Tilton Road has their own staff of maintenance workers who work independently with guidance as needed provided by the Building and Grounds Department. The Building and Grounds Department is also responsible for the operation of a small sewer plant that services the Animal Regulation building, Vermilion Manor Nursing Home, VASE, and a private residence.

Along with these duties the department is responsible for the operation of a digital phone system for several of the buildings, paying for the phone services, and monitoring the cost by phone line to catch any unauthorized expense. The Department has also been active in obtaining grant funds to upgrade our facilities, as well as working to become more energy responsible. Another large part of the work conducted is constantly seeking lower cost alternatives to utility companies, paying their bills, and keeping a constant monitoring of usage and cost by facility. Having a licensed plumber, certified HVAC employees, and employees with various other certifications and skills, allows Vermilion County government to provide excellent skills to complete projects in-house, thus lowering the final cost to the taxpayers of the County.

A division of the department is the in-house cleaning staff. These employees clean 3 of our largest buildings daily. They also clean 2 other facilities on a rotating schedule as needed. The duties of this division include the normal daily cleaning of trash removal, and sweeping floors. But, they also regularly shampoo carpets, and polish floors. And, along with the overall goal of the department, the supervisor of the cleaning staff is also active in finding lower cost alternatives to products used that are also environmentally friendly.

A future goal for the Department is to automate it as much as possible. Using a Centralized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) will allow for faster notification and better tracking  of work orders placed by the various offices. Requests for bids on special projects, and the associated letting of those bids will also be available on-line. Surplus equipment, furniture, and vehicles will be photographed, catalogued and offered to other offices. If there is no use in-house, they will be offered for sale to the public, reducing the amount of surplus items in storage. There is an in-house electronic “marketplace” where departments will be able to place orders for copy paper, copier supplies, postage stamps, and various other items.