Community Homes Spotlight on the Maintenance Department
Ask any of the residents of the 289 units that comprise Community Homes of Lebanon County, and they will quickly tell you they love their apartments, which allow them to live happily and comfortably in a safe community environment.
No small credit for this environment goes to the Community Homes Maintenance Department, a team of four full-time professionals under the supervision of Maintenance Director Jeff Weidman, a job he has held for over 20 years.
Jeff’s last job was in the same capacity at another local senior apartment complex. He was happy to make the move to Community Homes, “I appreciate that Community Homes management is fully supportive of the efforts of our maintenance team. An out-of-state Corporation owned the other complex and was not as “hands-on” as Community Homes. “Local ownership helping local people is much better. You can see and feel the difference.” Jeff says,
“I am very proud of our team,” shares Jeff, “we get great satisfaction from providing the comfort and satisfaction that the residents expect. Taking pride in our work makes us all better.”
The Maintenance staff is “work order-driven,” so no two days are alike. The process starts when a resident places a request with the Site Administrator, who consults with Jeff, resulting in a maintenance teammate taking responsibility for completing the task. Jobs are related to plumbing and heating problems and other tasks that require “fixing.” Major HVAC and plumbing tasks are outsourced.
Although not covered in “job responsibility,” the team sometimes helps needy tenants with other problems like hanging pictures or shifting locations of furniture pieces. “We realize that things like this are difficult or impossible for the residents to do by themselves, so we try to be helpful’, Jeff adds.
The team also takes responsibility for building exterior work like lawn care and snow removal. There are currently six apartment buildings in Lebanon County – the “Terrace” buildings – Willow, Poplar, Maple, Hill, and Oak in Lebanon City, plus Tulpehocken Terrace in Myerstown. New construction, the Canal Street Affordable Housing Project, is underway and will be covered in a future Community Homes Spotlight article.
Jeff is a lifelong Lebanon resident. He graduated from Cedar Crest High School. He parlayed his natural “handyman” talents into a full-time maintenance-focused career. He has also gained extra education in air-conditioning and refrigeration and studied at the Lebanon County Career and Technology Center to enhance his carpentry talents.
Jeff is single with no children. He is an identical twin and has an older brother. They usually get together during the holiday season.
Community Homes of Lebanon County live by its Core Values of Truth, Responsibility, Hope, Respect, Compassion, Fairness, and Safety.
The Maintenance Department fulfills a role in each of them.