Buildings & Grounds

The Van Buren County Buildings and Grounds Department is responsible for twenty (20) separate budgets totaling 1.4 Million Dollars. These budgets are used to maintain all equipment, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, electrical, and general upkeep of fourteen (14) county buildings, approximately 310,000 square feet. These twenty budgets take care of about 1,140,000 square feet of buildings and property.

The budget also takes care of 325,000 square feet of lawn, complete with landscaping and flowerbeds. This requires weekly mowing, trimming, weeding, and fertilizing twice yearly. The fourteen County buildings also have about 1,500 feet of sidewalks that require cleaning and de-icing in the winter.

The parking lots at the County buildings cover approximately 480,000 square feet. The lots are pavement and require sealing, top coating, and lining for parking.

The Department has six full time and four part time employees. Most of the HVAC, plumbing, electrical, remodeling, painting, general building tasks are done in-house. Three of the buildings have computerized HVAC control systems, all taken care of internally. The responsibility of cleaning the buildings range from four part-time custodians and private sector service. The lawns are mowed by the Sheriffs Alternative Work Program and many other projects receive assistance from the work crew.

Energy Awareness is vital in department operations and on-going upgrades and conversions are key in reducing energy consumption and modernizing technology.