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Groundskeepers Keep Snow, Ice at Bay
Whenever a major snowfall hits, a stoic and sturdy group of groundskeepers is ready to accept the daunting challenge of keeping Lower Campus sidewalks and stairways – notably the 128-step Higgins stairs – clear and safe for students, employees and visitors.
Groundskeepers frequently seen at work in this most challenging sector are John McGovern, Bernard “Smokey” Hoffman, Barry Bennett, Dennis Benway and Steve Kewley – all battle-tested veterans of rugged winters in Chestnut Hill.
“It’s been a long winter,” sighs Bennett, who like his co-workers alternates between shoveling and operating a plow or sanding truck.
But as tiring as the work is, the crew takes enormous pride in their accomplishments in battling a major storm.
“At the end, the grounds crew here puts out a pretty good product,” Bennett says. “If you walk around Boston College and then walk around one of the towns in the surrounding area, you’ll see the difference.”
Other snow workers say the University community shows appreciation for their efforts.
“When you are working on the stairs and students are walking by, they will say ‘Thank you,’” says Kewley, who also is a part-time student in the Woods College of Advancing Studies. “One day, I was doing the O’Neill Library stairs with another guy and it was really coming down. Two kids who had just walked by us came back with hot chocolate for us.”
Bennett and Kewley also praised BC mechanics Jim Casey and Mike Franks, who keep BC’s snow removal gear up and running through any storm.
Once the snow is finally gone, groundskeepers expect to find a larger than usual number of damaged trees, shrubs and turf that will have to be repaired or replaced in the spring to ready the campus for University Commencement.
“Then, it’s time to cut the grass,” Kewley laughs.
Boston College’s three campuses have 215 staircases, 40 acres of parking lots and 11 miles of sidewalks — all of which, thanks to a dozen substantial storms this winter, have been covered with a total of 80 inches of snow.
“We actually have a third shift that works Sunday through Thursday nights,” notes Associate Director for Housekeeping Gerry Boyle. “So, if you have a snowstorm at night, we already have a labor force right on campus. They are out at 5 a.m. shoveling the doorways and building stairs, so if the storm has stopped during the night we have a good start on the entrances.”
That adds up to a major challenge, a major expense – and sometimes a major headache – for the crews from the University’s Facilities Services grounds maintenance and custodial teams assigned to clear and remove the tons of white stuff that have fallen from winter skies.
The nasty stretch of snowy weather has meant long hours for the plowing, sanding and shoveling crews, who have worked up to 30 consecutive hours during the biggest storms to keep campus roads and walkways clear, safe and accessible.
”The guys are exhausted,” says Associate Director of Facilities Services Gina Bellavia, who heads up the snow clearing operation.
“There have been at least five times when we have had to keep everyone overnight. When the snow starts, we have them going right through the end of evening classes so that everything is safe for the people leaving campus. They might catch a couple of hours of sleep and then they’ll be out at 5 a.m. getting right back at it.”
This year, Facilities Services has borrowed emergency cots from University Director of Emergency Management and Preparedness John Tommaney, along with bedding and pillows from the Office of Residential Life, to provide a clean and comfortable resting place for the bone-weary crews.
A temporary rest area has been set up in the lower level of the former Cardinal’s Residence on the Brighton Campus and another in the workmen’s lounge in the Service Building on the Main Campus.
The grounds crew is assisted in their work by equipment and operators hired from four local contracting firms. A welcome boost also comes from BC’s team of 160 custodians, many of whom use shovels and snow blowers to clear entranceways, stairs, plazas and handicap entrances to all academic buildings, dormitories and offices.
Custodians also help to clear crosswalks and provide curb access near their assigned buildings. “We will sometimes hold people over to get the work done,” Boyle says. “And sometimes, we will chip in people to assist the grounds crew during a major storm.
“This has been a pretty challenging winter, but we have got it in a pretty good groove,” Boyle says. “There’s a lot of pride in what they do.” Snow removal is an expensive undertaking.
“We have already used 735 tons of road salt, 112 tons of environmentally-friendly Eco-Melt on sidewalks and stairs, and have hauled more than 1,600 tons of snow off-site,” says Bellavia. That’s enough snow to cover the three-acre field off Foster Street at the Brighton Campus to a height of 10 feet.
“There’s not a lot of room on campus, so when you get piles that are 10 feet high, you can’t see people walking. Once you start having piles, you start taking up parking spaces as well.”
Bellavia says that crews have also cleared massive snow banks from the crosswalks along Beacon Street. “We hauled 10 feet back so that you could see pedestrians.”
Like every municipality, Boston College’s snow removal budget – originally set at about $250,000 – has been devoured by the angry winter weather. Final costs will not be determined until the “all-clear” signal goes out in the spring, Bellavia says.
“The guys have risen to the occasion and recognized the significance of what they do,” notes Grounds Superintendent Scott McCoy, who is the on-site supervisor of the snow removal effort, “We have clearly raised the standard in the snow removal business as it relates to BC.
These guys know that when we have snow like we have had this year, they need to be there and complete their mission before anyone is comfortable that we can open the campus up.”