Park Technician Grounds

Nature of Work

Looking for a great opportunity to work outdoors and help keep our urban parks and trails in tip-top shape?The City of Bellingham Parks Department is currently seeking a Park Technician for Grounds!

Park Technician

• Grounds performs a variety of skilled technical duties associated with maintenance, improvements and construction of Park and other public facilities. Coordinates work of peers and subordinate personnel, as assigned. Assists Park Specialist to meet program goals and objectives.

This position will start at Step 1 ($27.55/hour). For external candidates, placement within the range is based on qualifications and professional experience in accordance with City policy. For internal candidates, placement within the range is based on City Pay Placement Procedures. Employees receive step increases annually in accordance with the Guild of Pacific Northwest Employees, Local 1937 Collective Bargaining Agreement and City policy. The full hourly range for this position is $27.55 - $33.91.

City of Bellingham employees receive medical, dental, and vision insurance as well as life insurance and long-term disability. Additional benefits include flexible spending accounts, a medical insurance opt-out program, and access to our employee assistance program. All eligible City employees are enrolled in aWashington State Department of Retirement Systemspension plan. Additionally, employees may elect to participate in the City's 457 deferred compensation retirement savings plan.

Employees will receive 12 paid holidays in addition to one paid floating holiday each year. Employees accrue 8 hours total of contract and state sick leave per month in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement and Washington State Law. At the time of hire, employees will accrue 7.33 hours of vacation per month. Vacation accruals increase based on years of service.Leave accruals are based on 1.0 FTE, accruals are pro-rated if part-time and require employees to be in paid status at least 120 hours/month.

For additional information regarding benefits and compensation Information please visit the following:

• Labor Agreements, Pay Schedules and E-Team Employee Handbook

• City of Bellingham (cob.org)

• Employment Benefits

• City of Bellingham (cob.org)

Closing Date/Time:Monday, April 1, 2024, at 4:30 PM PST

This position works within a program area under the Park Specialist as assigned. May be assigned to work in any program areas with Parks Operations Grounds division. This includes Turf/Irrigation, Horticulture, and Natural Resources program areas. In each assignment this position is responsible to help carry out the assigned work plans with general supervision and direction from the Specialist. Provides Specialist with input on designs and how to best implement plans. Operates independently using experience and good judgement to carry out work plans and tasks to meet goals within established parameters. This involves prioritizing and guiding the work of subordinate personnel and recording project completion information. Operation of backhoes, tractors, loaders, trucks, and other specialized equipment and tractor attachments is a key role of this class.

The specific duties, equipment and tools will vary depending on which of the program areas the Technician is assigned.

• Supports the Specialists in the program area to meet the goals of the program area by providing input on designs and how to best implement work plans and schedules.

• Carries out work plans with minimal supervision providing input on maintenance practices as well as new construction and renovation.

• Manages and adjusts daily work schedule of assigned activities to meet demands, usage, ground conditions and availability of equipment. Coordinates with the work activities of others.

• Inspects and monitors assigned areas for safety concerns and maintenance needs.

• Leads the work of Park Workers, seasonal employees and other resources as assigned.

• Operates backhoes and excavating equipment for a variety of tasks including excavations exposing underground utilities such as gas, water, electrical and fiber optic.

• Operates a variety of tractors and specialized attachments for technical work within Turf/Irrigation, Horticulture and Natural Resources programs.

• Operates a wide variety of equipment such as brush mowers, compressors and attachments, chainsaws, blowers, trimmers, mowers, as well as other power equipment and hand tools.

• Assists the Specialist in maintaining the inventory of assets by documentation and mapping.

• Trouble shoots, repairs, maintains, and installs irrigation and drainage systems including work on piping, valves, wiring and programming of automatic controllers.

• Trains and leads the work of the Horticulture, Mowing or Natural Resources crew and other assigned resources.

• Works independently or with a crew to perform horticulture tasks such as pruning, weeding, mulching, planting layout, and planting.

• Works in the street tree program pruning, planting and removing trees. Involves traffic control, use of aerial lifts and working in the street environment.

• Constructs trails and trail structures including sub grades, surfacing, drainage, bridges, handrails, fencing bollards, elevated walks, steps, retaining walls, signage and re-vegetation.

• Works from plans, maps and drawings using a variety of tools such as laser levels to build and reconstruct areas of trails, turf features, drainage, irrigation and horticulture installation.

• Works to establish, monitor and document Park Land Boundaries and documents encroachments and invasive weed locations.

• Implements regularly scheduled maintenance activities such as mowing, seeding, aerification, top dressing, fertilization, pruning, planting, debris removal, ditching, trailside maintenance and other maintenance tasks.

• Operates a variety of automotive style equipment such as dump trucks, flatbeds and pickup trucks, trailers (as assigned).

• Applies pesticides in accordance to City, state and federal regulations under the direction of the Park Specialist.

ADDITIONAL WORK PERFORMED:

• Performs related duties within the scope of the classification as assigned.

WORKING ENVIRONMENT:

Most work is performed out-of-doors in all weather conditions. Hazardous conditions exist around machinery and uneven ground. Some hazardous conditions exist when required to handle and apply pesticides.

Experience and Training

• Two years experience in professional grounds care.

• Successful completion of coursework relative to horticulture/turf/grounds care may substitute for one year of required experience.

Necessary Special Requirements

• Valid Washington State driver's license by time of hire and proof of good driving record. A three-year driving abstract must be submitted prior to hire.

• Ability to secure a Commercial Driver's License within six months of hire and to maintain a valid CDL during length of employment (as required).

• Must pass a pre-employment drug/alcohol test prior to hire (as required).(This position is considered a safety sensitive position; therefore, the pre-employment drug test includes testing for marijuana. Positive test results will exclude an applicant from being hired)

• Ability to secure within twelve months of hire and maintain a Washington State Pesticide License.

• Ability to secure within twelve months of hire and maintain a Flagging Certification.

• Ability to secure and maintain a valid First Aid and CPR certification.

• Employment contingent upon passing a criminal convictions check, child and adult abuse records check and local background check.

Selection Process

You are encouraged to print a copy of this job announcement for your reference as the process moves along

Please ensure your application is complete and all required information has been provided. Standard completeness means all application fields (contact information, personal information, education, work experience, references, and required supplemental questions). Provide as much detail as you believe will fully describe your experience and training.

Application Review Process:

• Minimum Qualifications: Applicants must provide specific, detailed information so an initial determination can be made regarding your level of qualifications for this position. Applicant status will be updated on or around

April 2, 2024.

• Experience and Training Rating: Applicants that meet minimum qualifications will go through an Experience and Training Rating. Relevancy of your experience and training, together with composition, grammar, spelling and punctuation will be considered when evaluating responses.Applicant status will be updated on or around April 12, 2024

• Thetop eight (8)scoring candidates from the Experience and Training Review will be invited to participate in an Oral Board Interview, tentatively scheduled for the week of April 21, 2024.

• Applicants will be notified via email of Final Scores & Ranks. The final ranking of the register will be based on total scores for the following: Experience and Training Review (40%) and Oral Board Interview (60%).Candidates must have a minimum score of60%or higher from the Oral Board Interview to be placed on the eligibility list.

This recruitment process will create a Civil Service eligibility register that will be used to fill current and future vacancies as they become available.There is currently 1 full-time vacancy in the Parks Department.This position is represented by a union.

Please Note: Candidates will receive updates regarding application status via email. Please be sure to check your email frequently, including your spam folders for messages filtered by your email providers.

Equal Opportunity:

Our environment is characterized by respect for cultural backgrounds, belief systems, and ethnic diversity. The City of Bellingham is an Equal Opportunity Employer and values diversity in its work force. We do not make decisions on the basis of an individual's race, religion, creed, color, national origin, sex, marital status, age (40+), disability, retaliation, sexual orientation or gender identity, honorably discharged veteran or military status, status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking, use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability, or any other basis prohibited by local, state, or federal law. All are encouraged to apply for employment.

Fair Hiring Practices

• The City provides individuals who have been arrested or convicted of a criminal offense an equal and fair opportunity to obtain employment.

• The City will not inquire about an applicant's criminal history until after a conditional job offer has been made.

• The City will disregard the prior arrest and conviction record of an otherwise qualified individual unless the offense is directly related to the job position for which the individual has applied.

• The City will notify an otherwise qualified applicant about a potentially disqualifying conviction and give the applicant an opportunity to submit information regarding the accuracy of the criminal records as well as evidence of mitigation or rehabilitation, as appropriate.