Since the new Public Works Service Center opened in September 2016, it’s been up to Ingrid Traynham and her small company to keep the interior of the new building - all 45,560 square feet of it - sparkling clean.

Traynham is the owner of The Cleaning Force, an 8-employee company based in Jefferson County that provides janitorial services. The Cleaning Force was awarded a $45,000-a-year contract from the City to clean the Public Works Service Center. The Public Building Authority now manages the contracts for maintenance at the center.

"It's exciting that this is a LEED building - to work someplace where they care about the chemicals that are used and that the building is safe," says Traynham, who's originally from Venezuela. 

The Cleaning Force stated out as a small family window-cleaning business before expanding more than a decade ago to offer office cleaning, floor treatment and pressure washing using green and sustainable cleaning systems.

Traynham encourages small businesses to attend the City's annual Business Breakfast, where more than $100 million in upcoming City, KUB, KCDC and Public Building Authority purchases are discussed. The idea is to help local companies in preparing their bid proposals by going through the contract details, understanding what the City wants and knowing when the contracts will be bid.

"The Business Breakfast gets us prepared for what’s coming, which helps us to better compete with our proposals," Traynham said. "I especially appreciate that the City is so helpful. The City is good to work with - they always say, 'Ask us if you have any questions.'"