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Big snow on campus
1 May, 2006 By: Heather Gooch Landscape ManagementSnow removal at colleges and universities can be a lucrative add-on.
A blizzard can be a college student's dream: Classes are canceled, giving a precious extra day or two to get that late assignment done. But for the campus facility maintenance staff, an unexpected snow event can be a nightmare.
"Sidewalks and steps are particularly taxing because our campus sits up on a hill. They must always be kept clean because we are a transient college," says Denny Baker, lead technician in the landscape and grounds department for 9,000-student Cincinnati State Technical & Community College. Baker is responsible for year-round upkeep of the 43-acre main campus, as well as its north and west campuses (totaling about 10 acres) and the west campus' 20-acre single-runway airport complex.
 Get in gear |
Baker has been with the university five years. His job evolved from a decade of teaching classes in turfgrass maintenance, horticulture and even cemetery management, which he still does many evenings. He was manager for a national landscaping and lawn care firm before that, so he knows what to look for in a good contractor relationship.
"We perform about 98 percent of all the snow and ice control on the main campus," Baker says of his five-man team, which is responsible for all three locations. "It's a team effort between us, the contractor and the interior maintenance staff. It makes the job so much easier."
Communication counts
John Molloy, president of Boston-based Molloy Landscaping Inc., notes that he makes it a priority to establish and maintain a good relationship with facility managers at campus accounts.
"Our phone line in our office will speed-dial to my cell phone at night so I can always be reached in emergencies," he offers as an example. Molloy also advises contractors thinking about getting into snow removal at their campus accounts to spell out responsibilities from the start.
"Find out what is expected: Are you going to be the 'heavy snow guys' to help out the on-site staff, or are they turning over all snow and ice responsibility to you?" he says. "With the recent light snowfall years, some firms have even gone to charging a monthly snow-readiness retainer fee for schools and other large accounts."
Plan ahead
Baker states that whenever he calls in his contractor, there is a pre-arranged plan in place. Everyone knows their responsibilities. "I do not have to stop and direct his people," Baker adds. "The working relationship is fantastic."
Molloy suggests thinking about next winter as soon as the sun comes out. "We start gearing up for the season in April," he says, admitting that he is earlier than his competition. "That's when we start designing our fliers and basically going over our game plan. By June, we start talking to our contacts because I want the sales wrapped up by September. Everything that comes in after that, unbudgeted, is gravy."
Because it makes sense to contact existing clients first, he says, it may be something to mention at campus accounts come contract time.
"These days, universities are looking at having you fulfill the whole package, including snow removal," Molloy adds. "Don't be afraid to ask existing clients, because if you don't ask, you don't get."
Particularly for campuses, trust is a big issue, as Baker can attest. Molloy jokes that facility maintenance departments seem to have their own "clique," wherein they tell one another the local companies they like to use — and the ones they don't.
"You might be presenting to university officials, but you need to gain the trust of the facility maintenance department," he adds.
— The author is a Northeast Ohio-based writer. Contact her at 330/723-3539 or
heather@goochandgooch.com.
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