Grounds Technician II - Sweetwater Wetlands Park

Join the team at Sweetwater Wetlands Park, one of the region's premier nature parks and a world-class man-made treatment wetland. The City of Gainesville's Environmental Education team is seeking a self-motivated, outdoor-oriented Maintenance Worker who takes pride in caring for public spaces, enjoys connecting with visitors, and has a passion for nature and conservation.

This is more than a maintenance position—it's an opportunity to help preserve a nationally recognized natural area while creating a welcoming and memorable experience for thousands of park visitors each year. Working alongside park rangers and other dedicated staff, you'll play an essential role in maintaining the park's trails, ecosystems, facilities, landscapes, and infrastructure while serving as an ambassador for the park through outstanding customer service.

In addition to performing semi-skilled maintenance and construction tasks, this position regularly interacts with visitors, answers questions, provides directions, engages in invasive plant removal, and helps ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone. The successful candidate may also have opportunities to work alongside park rangers during ranger shifts and assist with public engagement programs and special events.

This position performs manual labor and semi-skilled maintenance tasks or assists skilled workers under direct or limited supervision. Positions in this classification report to a designated supervisor and are distinguished by their focus on parks maintenance and construction without supervisory responsibilities.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

• Performs routine trail, grounds and landscaping work, including but not limited to: pruning or trimming vegetation, pulling weeds, mowing, spraying or applying herbicide and fertilizer, raking or blowing leaves, edging curbs, loading trimmings onto truck, picking up trash and blowing or sweeping debris off parking lots and sidewalks.

• Performs basic installation of city trees, shrubs, and bedding plants, including but not limited to: preparing planting sites, digging holes, setting and watering plants and preparing appropriate supporting structures.

• Operates motorized equipment such as mowers, tractors, frontend loader, backhoe trucks, dump trucks, and trailers used to transport materials and equipment to maintain parks, grounds, athletic fields and other areas. Operates other equipment as required. Services and washes vehicles.

• Inspects and perform scheduled preventative maintenance on assigned equipment, including but not limited to: checking and making appropriate adjustments, lubricating, performing fluid and filter changes, replacing components and lighting maintenance and repairs.

• Performs athletic field maintenance, including but not limited to: chalking, dragging and watering infields and warning tracks, packing holes on pitchers mounds, home plates and bullpens, laying out fields, painting lines and bases, picking up trash and removing practice equipment from fields.

• Assists with the maintenance, assembly and repair of recreation equipment.

• Assists or performs basic electrical, carpentry, plumbing, painting, concrete, and other trade work. Uses and maintains power hand tools, such as drills, nailing guns and circular saws.

• Performs hand and bench work in a carpentry shop and performs welding and metal repairs.

• Performs excellent customer service by providing information and assistance to citizens who visit the City’s parks or conservation areas.

• Supports City special events and programs by updating, repairing and caring for displays and exhibits, moving and lifting of heavy equipment, tables, and chairs, setting up barricades and other temporary traffic control devices, providing flagging services and cleaning up at the end of events.

• Assists in moving and storing office equipment and cleaning and maintaining buildings and facilities.

• Ensures park facilities are properly secured after normal hours and responds to emergencies and disasters. Enforces compliance with building rules and regulations.

• Participates as a member of a trained, professional prescribed burn team.

• Participates as a member of a trained exotic pest plant control team.

• Prepares and/or enters work orders.

QUALIFICATIONS

Completion of high school or equivalency diploma and one year experience in laboring work, professional landscape work or park maintenance, including the use of hand and power tools and motorized equipment including trucks, trailers, mowers and tractors and equipment maintenance, repair and construction work; or an equivalent combination of training and experience which provide the required knowledge, skills and abilities.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Knowledge of types and uses of common hand and power tools, materials, and standard equipment used in grounds keeping, facility maintenance, construction, and repairs.

• Knowledge of maintenance and construction methods related to parks, athletic fields and recreation equipment.

• Knowledge of precautions necessary to work safely with tools and mechanized equipment and around the public.

• Ability to perform manual tasks involving physical strength and endurance under variable weather conditions including working with herbicides and around smoke and extreme heat during prescribed burns.

• Ability to work effectively with coworkers and the general public, including angry and/or abusive individuals.

• Ability to read and understand detailed and complex work schedules and diagrams.

• Ability to work independently with little supervision.