After spending more than 13 years working across the region at commercial facilities and group homes in his former post as a facility operations staffer for the nonprofit human services agency Ability Beyond, Jamie Ambrogio told The Newtown Bee last week he is thrilled to be able to put his knowledge and experience to work for the residents and municipal staff here in Newtown.

Mr Ambrogio was recently hired as the facilities manager for the newly opened Community Center and Senior Center to maintain and service boilers, air conditioning units, pools, plumbing and electrical equipment.

His job also involves management of the neighboring Municipal Center facility.

Taking a brief break to sit for a few moments on July 24, just three days after the new facility officially opened at Fairfield Hills, Mr Ambrogio shared that he is a Connecticut native, born in Greenwich and raised in Danbury. He currently resides in New Milford with his wife, a Danbury educator, and their two daughters.

“At Ability Beyond, I worked on hundreds of different facilities projects across the agency’s network of offices and group homes in Connecticut and New York,” he said. “In that capacity I was sort of a cross between a handyman and jack of all trades. I was responsible for things ranging from general maintenance to required safety inspections. I also did all kinds of installations and repairs.”

Mr Ambrosio said he is now combining his wealth of hands-on knowledge and training, with all the information and education he is getting as he learns about the operations of advanced mechanical, HVAC, and aquatic systems at the new community and senior center.

“This is the first brand new facility I’ve worked at, and it’s really exciting to be trained and to learn what I need to know to help get this facility up and running,” he said.

He is also learning the capabilities and capacities of the many electronic and physical plant systems housed in the new facility, while getting to know the many residents and new members visiting along with many of Newtown’s municipal employees.

“It’s a pleasure to be working in such a positive atmosphere where people are coming to enjoy everything that’s offered to them here. And the [town and center employees] I’ve been able to work with so far are all fantastic,” Mr Ambrosio said. “I’m already working closely with the aquatics director and contractors, while undergoing training on all the new mechanical systems.”

He said the construction manager Caldwell & Walsh has been providing video taping of the many training sessions Mr Ambrogio has already completed, so he can go back and reference them when or if needed.

The new manager said he is particularly impressed with the center’s state-of-the-art HVAC system with its multiple zone controls and remote management tools, as well as the computerized filter system for the center’s two swimming pools.

“This is the best filtration system I’ve ever seen,” he said. “We’ve invested in two dedicated commercial filtration systems for each of the pools.”

While most of Mr Ambrogio’s work is concentrated inside, and with the physical building, he is also working with Parks & Rec staff who are handling all the groundskeeping and landscaping.

He said he is looking forward to when “things start to calm down and I can actually sit and create an entire maintenance program for the entire center,” he said. “Preventative maintenance is critical when it comes to maintaining warranties on all of this equipment, and to ensure and extend the equipment’s service life.”

In the time he is able to covet for himself, Mr Ambrogio said his main hobby is working out and taking care of his own health. He is also an experienced videographer with a concentration on weddings and similar special events.

According to his official job description, the facility manager is immediately supervised by Community Center Director Matt Ariniello, and Public Works Director Fred Hurley.