Campus invests in cleanup, maintenance

By Sarah R. Buchholz, Chronicle staff

Brian Konieczny, technical assistant II in Grounds Management, prepares to use the vacuum on the new VQuip truck purchased to help spiff up the campus. "This vacuum picks up leaves, small twigs, pine needles, and, supposedly, garbage and cigarette butts," he said. "The rear of the truck opens for easy dumping." (Stan Sherer photo)

he core of the campus has been undergoing a major cleanup since the hiring of 10 new staffers in Landscape Services at the beginning of spring, according to Landscape and Construction Services manager Pam Monn.

     Freed up by the new hires in the department, a team of six employees, which Monn refers to as a "SWAT team," was selected to conduct an intensive cleanup, one building at a time, moving through the central part of campus as fast as it can, she said.

     "We wanted a well-rounded, well-crafted team with somebody who knows about pruning, somebody who knows about floriculture, etc.," she said. "We developed an attack plan for the SWAT team and started at Whitmore on April 1."

     After Whitmore, they've moved north down the pedestrian walkway and expanded east and west.

     "They will be working in tandem with the folks who take care of the general lawn mowing. The mowers go first; then they'll string-trim, prune, weed, edge, mulch and power wash. They will be aggressively cleaning up the outside of each building."

     Monn said building entrances and large recycling containers will be power washed.

     In addition to the 10 staff members hired April 1, Landscape Services' efforts are being bolstered by seasonal help from another 10 staff members added in January who split their time between custodial efforts in the winter and landscape work in the warmer months, she said.

     This crew will work to keep litter picked up, she said.

     "We'll have them through October," she said. Then they go back to Custodial, and Custodial has its own SWAT response for the inside of the buildings."

     In addition to the investment in workers, Monn said, interim Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Joyce Hatch supported the cleanup by funding a pair of Ford F150 crew cabs and a Canadian VQuip multi-task truck, which contains a power washer, vacuum and trash-collection unit. The VQuip cost $70,000, and the other two trucks were under $40,000 together, Monn said.

     "It's in response to the chancellor's 'curb appeal' initiative," Monn said. "You might not be able to sell the difference between the history programs at two schools, but what you can sell is how the campus looks. So he wants to make the campus landscape look top-notch. It's spiffing up and paying attention to the details to make the campus look pristine.

     "Joyce Hatch gave us the people and the equipment after we did up a proposal saying how many people and how much more in resources we would need. We were hoping to get to each building four times between April and October. I'm not sure we're going to [do that], but the goal is to get to each building at least once.

     "These guys will be making choices about plant material being too close to the building or not the right kind in the right place. They'll be working closely with customer service, building coordinators, and E[nvironmental], H[ealth] and S[afety]. They'll be working with building maintenance [staff] to replace paint after a power wash, or letting me know if a sidewalk needs replacing and providing me with a report when they're done.

     "Depending on what they run into at each building, if we get to each building by October, we're doing really well. We want folks to know they're coming. We'll get to them. We encourage folks to go out and talk to them, ask questions and thank them."