City Manager Lori Ann Farrell Harrison presented Lead Maintenance Worker Andrew Lucio with the City Manager Leadership Award for the month of June.
“Andrew sets a great example as a member of the Maintenance Services Division and our Costa Mesa team,” Farrell Harrison said. “Whenever I see him he is always smiling and exudes a great attitude. I am happy to present him with this award.”
Lucio joined the City team in 2016 as a part-time General Aide II assigned to the Parks and Landscape Maintenance Section. Lucio was quickly promoted to a full-time Maintenance Worker in 2017 and assigned to the Graffiti Abatement team.
Lucio spent the next few years under the tutelage of Gaetano Russo, who was the Lead Maintenance Worker in Graffiti Abatement at the time. He was dedicated to learning all that he could from his mentor.
This dedication led him to be assigned as Acting Lead Maintenance Worker for the team following Gaetano’s retirement in 2021. Lucio excelled in his new role that first year and provided a nearly seamless transition. He was officially promoted to permanent status in August of 2022.
In addition to his regular duties as the lead Graffiti Abatement team member, Lucio was instrumental this past year in assisting the section with the most recent bus stop maintenance service agreement by providing a detailed mapping system along with a Google maps location spreadsheet.
Lucio and his team also pressure wash on a regular basis: parks and playgrounds, high-traffic sidewalks, high-traffic bus stops and fulfill additional requests as needed.
The Graffiti team received over 6,500 graffiti-related calls, which is a 2,500 increase over the previous year.
Despite the incredible increase in workload, Lucio still comes to work each day with a smile on his face and a positive attitude that reflects how much he enjoys serving the Costa Mesa Community. Lucio can be heard regularly saying “I love my job”.
Lucio enjoys working out in the field and all the positive feedback from residents in our community. From sandblasting walls to pressure washing concrete, to color-matching building walls, no task is too tough for Lucio.
He credits his team and the community here in Costa Mesa, as the reason he calls Costa Mesa a “Home away from Home.”