Zack Thorington

The city is turning its custodial work over to a private company.

On Monday, the Powell City Council hired Roselli Cleaning Services to take over the cleaning responsibilities for city hall, the Powell police station, The Commons and the Homesteader Park rest area.

The city had previously employed an on-staff custodian, but when that employee retired last month, officials opted to put out a request for proposals from private cleaners. Roselli Cleaning Services was the only company to respond. The Powell company had previously filled in for a few months while the custodian was out and spent about three weeks cleaning the Powell Municipal Airport while the city sought an operator.

“They do a very good job,” City Administrator Zack Thorington said of Roselli.

As for the company’s new proposal, “the numbers came back positive, I feel, for what we’re getting,” Thorington said.

The contract approved by the council calls for Roselli Cleaning Services to be paid $4,700 a month, plus $40 for each cleaning of The Commons. With about 50 events at The Commons each year, that should put the annual cost around $58,400.

For comparison, Thorington said the city had been spending as much as $64,000 in salary and benefits for its on-staff custodian — and they had not handled the Homesteader rest area. Having Roselli Cleaning Services take over the additional cleaning of that “big hotspot” will free up time for the limited parks department staff, he said.

The agreement spells out which cleaning tasks need to be completed daily, weekly and monthly. Under the contract, the city is responsible for providing all of the cleaning supplies while the company must supply its own liability insurance.

The 18-month deal runs through June 30, 2025, at which point the city can evaluate whether the arrangement is working out, Thorington said. However, the contract also allows the city to terminate the deal “with or without cause at any time.”

Park County commissioners explored the possibility of privatizing the county’s custodial services in early 2020, but ultimately decided to stick with their roughly 15-person staff.

Engineer hired for HVAC overhaul

Also at Monday’s meeting, the city advanced plans to replace the HVAC systems at city hall, the police department and The Commons. The council approved a $68,450 contract with Engineering Design Associates of Casper to design the new systems and administer the construction project, which will include new membrane roofs and ceilings at the PD and city hall.

Engineering Design Associates stands to earn $42,800 for mechanical and electrical engineering services, while $25,650 will go to an architectural subconsultant, Point Architects of Cody.

Construction documents are set to be issued in April with the work completed by November. The project is being paid for with a $420,000 grant drawn from the federal American Rescue Plan Act and awarded by the State Loan and Investment Board.

To meet the grant’s requirements, the city received quotes from three different engineering firms. Not only was Engineering Design Associates “the least expensive by quite a bit,” Thorington said the firm did good work on the replacement of the Powell Aquatic Center’s HVAC system in 2022.