Richard M. Palanzo Public Buildings Superintendent
Address:	Newtown Road Danbury, CT 06810
Telephone:	203-797-4584

Description
    The Public Buildings Division of the Public Works Department is charged with the responsibility for “maintenance, construction and repair of municipal buildings.” This extensive responsibility encompasses a total of 58 active buildings, and over 6,500 pieces of operating mechanical equipment. The Public Buildings Division strives to provide a pleasant and comfortable environment for the operation of effective government, education, and public safety. In addition, the Division’s goal is to provide facilities services in a timely and efficient manner.

    The staffing for this Division includes the Superintendent, Foreman, state licensed trades personnel (one electrician, two steamfitters, one plumber), a low voltage technician, one mason, one carpenter, two general maintenance mechanics, 3 custodian, one Secretary-Bookkeeper and a part-time clerk-typist. This small but dedicated staff provides 24/7 facility services to departments and tenants housed in city buildings and schools.

Successes
    In this fiscal year, the staff completed 2501 requests for service an increase of 24% over last year. Assistance for preventative maintenance and major repairs that cannot be handled by in-house staff is provided through contractual arrangement with local professional contractors.

    In addition to repair and maintenance services, the staff of Public Buildings performs minor in-house alteration projects that save the City of Danbury significant monies that would otherwise be paid to contractors. Examples of more recent in-house projects, which vary in size and scope, are: renovations to Veterans Hall / Memorial Drive, plumbing and electrical services for Kaplanis Field House and carpet replacement at Marian Anderson Recital Hall.

    As the division is responsible for facilities services it also strives to achieve energy efficient buildings. The Public Buildings Division operates and maintains building energy management systems for public buildings and public schools, as well as communications, telephone, cell phone and voice mail services.

    The Division is pleased to report that this year Public Buildings initiated an on-line computerized building management system. City department heads have the ability to electronically send work requests to our office computer and schedule their work. The Division has also integrated the Board of Education into this management system. Authorized school personnel may enter work requests into the Public Builings’ system, track their progress, and receive custom status reports. This has increased productivity and communications while reducing downtime.

    The Superintendent of Public Buildings participates in some of the design management and construction oversight of public and school construction projects. He acts as an owner’s representative to insure that design of new construction meets the needs of the persons who will occupy the space. The design must meet objective criteria to insure functionality, comfort and maintainability, while being energy and fiscally responsible. Major projects are managed in conjunction with the Director of Public Works and the City Engineer; smaller projects may be managed directly by the Superintendent. Recent projects that have been managed by Public Buildings are:

    Honeywell DDC Controls Upgrade at the Public Schools, replace Fuel Storage and Dispensing Facility at Public Works Complex, Honeywell Phase III Energy & Performance Conservation Enhancements at the Public Schools, Library HVAC Upgrade Phase I, Emergency Generator Replacement at City Hall, roof replacement at the Public Works Administrative Building and design for the School Based Health Center at Rogers Park Middle School.