Dear Colleagues,

I would like to take a moment to provide an update on recent changes to services provided by Facilities Services (FS). Two main issues have driven these changes: (a) COVID-19 related impacts associated with work curtailment during the campus closure and keeping the campus as safe as possible and (2) the financial challenges and budget reductions as a result of COVID-19. Facilities Services, like all campus programs and units, has had to focus on defining overall priorities and make tough decisions to reduce staff and reassess the services provided to the campus.

Since the onset of COVID-19, Facilities Services has increased the cleaning and disinfecting of occupied buildings, adjusting weekly cleanings in high-touch areas such as lobbies, doors, and elevators to a daily process, and daily cleaning and disinfecting of restrooms to multiple times per day. Additionally, our maintenance skilled trades have worked to address required adjustments for COVID-19, such as adjusting to a higher level of air exchanges in occupied buildings where approved lab teaching and research takes place.

Our focus has always been to provide our specialized skills to the maintenance of campus assets to the best of our ability. Below is a summary of the service changes going forward in Facilities Services, likely for the remainder of this fiscal year.

1. Event Set-ups and Moves – In acknowledgement of the campus’ limited opening and county guidelines, in-person events are no longer taking place and staff from this service have been reduced. Facilities Services no longer has the capacity to accommodate event set-up requests such as tents, chairs, etc. In addition, equipment moves and removal services have been impacted by this reduction and will be eliminated. These services will be re-assessed long term as campus returns to normal business and based on final budget reductions.
    
2. Minor Renovation Requests – In September, we reached out to all Org Units and asked for you to review and prioritize all projects which had been submitted. We also updated the project criteria to emphasize projects focused on research, research equipment installations/connections and new faculty hires. Significant budget reductions creates a major impact on the number of projects we can complete for the remainder of this fiscal year. The recently reduced maintenance team responsible for these minor renovation requests is the same staff responsible for ongoing operational maintenance of campus facilities, addressing building failures, and performing daily maintenance work. We have identified all of the projects which will be moving forward from the lists submitted in September, and we will begin notifying each Org regarding which projects will be moving forward, with work beginning in early 2021. Although this change is a painful one to the campus, any minor renovations requests can be resubmitted in a future fiscal cycle.
    
3. Patch and Paint Requests – The painting team for Facilities Services will continue to be focused on the general public space maintenance of core-funded buildings (i.e. restrooms, general assignment classrooms, hallways, etc.). Patch and paint project requests will be limited to only those requests related to research and new faculty hires. All other existing requests will be canceled and our Client Support Services team will notify requestors of this change.
    
4. Access Control – During the campus closure, the FS Access Control team will focus on maintaining campus safety by repairs to doors and locks throughout the campus facilities. Our department will no longer provide the following services:
   1. Large Quantity Key Requests – Requests for keys will be limited to no more than 10 building keys or fobs.
   2. Approved Campus Return-to-Work Plans: To adhere to campus COVID-19 policies, requests for more than 10 keys/fobs must include an approved Campus Return-to-Work plan. Once you submit your key request, please email your approved plan to facilities@ucr.edu.

On behalf of Facilities Services, I want to thank all of you for your support and understanding as we navigate through these changes to our services. These are challenging times for all of UCR, and Facilities Services has continued to perform critical campus maintenance to ensure campus facilities are fully operational while addressing staffing and budgeting reductions. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel welcome to reach out to me.

Respectfully,

Susan L. Marshburn

Associate Vice Chancellor

Facilities Services