Employees rake leaves, update lawn mowers for winter preparation

As the seasons at IU change from almost winter to winter, students are busy switching over to winter gear and teachers are preparing their classes for final exams. Mike Girvin, manager of the campus division of the physical plant of IU  and his crew are also getting ready for the first snowfall.

“Right now we’re still heavily into leaf pickup,” Girvin said. “That’s an important part of early winter preparation, because if we don’t get a big chunk of leaves picked up on campus, they’ll end up on the streets.”

He said these leaves then clog the storm drains, which eventually leads to icy spots on the road.

The workers of campus division rake leaves eight hours a day, five days a week. Girvin said he rotates his workers between raking and other winter preparation tasks so they don’t get burned out on one job.

“All the leaves we collect are taken out to the campus nursery and are composted,” Girvin said. “We use that after it breaks down as topsoil in our flower beds.”

Changeover of equipment is also vital before the first major snowfall. The lawn mowers are being changed to broom units, which are mainly used on the sidewalks. Heaters are even attached to these units to give the crew some heat. Snow blowers are also used on the sidewalks for spots the broom units cannot reach, like steps.

“We currently have about 25 percent of our fleet ready for snow,” Girvin said.

Dump trucks are also being fitted with blades on the front and salt spreaders on the back.

“I think that they do the best that they can,” said junior Julie Singer. “It’s hard to make sure that all of campus is safe and ice-free for the winter because it’s such a sprawling area.”

Although there are the occasional spills on ice, Girvin and his crew are prepared for any ice Jack Frost brings IU’s way.

“We ordered about 12 thousand pounds of ice melt,” Girvin said. “The crews do the wooden boardwalks down around the Jordan River or where they see ice forming. The entire crew is on call for any snow emergency, so once it starts snowing, we work pretty much continuously around the clock to make sure the campus is clear and open.”

Girvin said when winter storms hit, his employees often spend the night and do not go home for two or even three days.

“I’ve never had really early morning classes, so if it’s ever been snowy out, it’s already cleared out by the time I have to go anywhere,” Singer said. “There’s only so much people can do when there’s bad weather.”

Preparing 2,100 acres of campus for winter will keep the workers busy in the upcoming weeks.

“I have a really good group,” Girvin said. “They’ve been here doing this a long time. They take a lot of pride in how IU looks.”