Grounds and Fleet Services
The Grounds and Fleet Team, is responsible for maintaining 235 acres of campus grounds, including its trees, flowers, shrubs, lawns and irrigation system. During the winter months, the Grounds and Fleet Department maintains the sidewalks, parking lots and roads, and removes snow and ice. The department is broken down into four specific areas: grounds services, facilities fleet management, pest control management, and waste management. The department also works closely with the Sustainability Office to be more environmentally friendly in all aspects of our job.
Summary of Services
Service Exclusions Note: Facilities Services support is limited to university facilities and property. Due to liability risks, Facilities Services is unable to loan out equipment to contractors, faculty, staff, or students.
Grounds Services
Grounds Services provides daily maintenance of the 235 acres campus grounds. There are times that Grounds Services may be able to provide services beyond these routine services for a fee. If you would like to request additional services you will need to submit a service request along with a cost center number well in advance of when you will need these services performed. A member of the Facilities Services team will contact you regarding the scope of work, a cost estimate and schedule.
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Routine Services are essential services in which Grounds and Fleet Services is budgeted and staffed to provide.
Keeping our grounds maintained helps not only with campus beautification, but when properly done, helps our environment and pest management. The primary grounds and landscaping care responsibilities are as follows:
- Mowing, trimming, pruning and weeding of lawn
- Irrigation management – monitoring and repairing
- Care and maintenance of campus trees, flowers, shrubs, and lawn
- Tree trimming, removal and replacement
- Installation of annual flower beds
- Athletic field maintenance
- Fall leaf cleanup
- Litter pickup
- In-house campus trash pickup
- Pest control management
- Outdoor furniture management
- Overall exterior and outdoor beautification
- Maintenance and repair of university owned roads, pathways, and parking lots (as needed)
- Snow and ice removal from sidewalks, parking lots, and roads (as needed)
Please see the following documents for more information:
Pass-through service are services provided to the university by outside vendors and are requested through the facilities services work order management system. Facilities only manages the request for the outside vendor.
Moving Services
Olympia Moving handles moving services for the university. Estimates are provided by Olympia Moving for the scope of the work. Please place a service request for an estimate. Moving services include the following:
- Rearranging or transporting furniture or department equipment
- Delivery of items from surplus furniture program
Facilities Fleet Management
Facilities Services oversees 35 vehicles and six golf carts for their 130 employees to be able to not only get around campus, but to ensure a quick response during emergencies. For this reason, we are unable to loan out any of our fleet’s vehicles or golf carts for any reason.
The campus gas pumps, located outside of the Grounds Services garage is maintained by Grounds Services in order to ensure all campus vehicles have access to needed fuel. The fuel is also used in our 22 diesel emergency generators throughout campus.
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The Campus Gas Program is run through the Facilities Services office. Vehicles are assigned a gas key fob and users are assigned a pin code in order to dispense fuel. The fuel cost is charged monthly back to the cost center associated with the user. Campus partners who have a gas-powered golf cart or have a gas vehicle through Procurements Enterprise Fleet Management program may be eligible for the gas program. If you think you may be eligible for the program, please contact Chris Gould or Danielle Sullivan.
Pest Control Management
Our Grounds Manager works closely with our contracted pest management company, Ultraist Pest Control, to control the unwanted pests on campus. For over 30 years Ultraist Pest Control has been committed to providing fast and effective pest control solutions for a wide array of commercial and residential customers in the Greater Boston, MA area. If you have a pest issue, please submit a service request.
Types of pest issues:
- Management of indoor pest (mice, bees, ants, etc.)
- Management of outdoor pest (squirrels, raccoons, birds, snakes, etc.)
Learn more about our Integrated Pest Management Plan (pdf).
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Trash Dumpster Management
The university uses Save That Stuff, a Boston-based recyclable materials and waste management company. They help over 3,000 New England businesses and institutions safely and efficiently dispose of a wide range of recoverable materials otherwise destined for the dumpster.
In-House Campus Trash Removal
Trash barrels throughout the campus are picked up Monday – Friday during the school year by our Grounds Crew. During the summer, the trash is picked up three times per week.
The university uses Black Earth Compost, the leading full service compost company in New England. They are dedicated to collecting food scraps from residents, schools, supermarkets, colleges, and more, all across eastern MA and RI.
Recycling programs have been established for additional materials on campus:
- Paper and cardboard
- Electronics
- Cathode ray tubes (computer monitors and televisions)
- Scrap metal
Federal, state, and local regulations govern the use, handling, discharge and disposal of potentially hazardous materials to the air, water, and land. Contact Andy Finn before disposing any of the below materials. Collection areas and programs are already established on campus.
- Hazardous batteries, primary nickel cadmium (NiCd), and button batteries
- Mercury-containing devices, such as thermostats, manometers, switches, water meters, thermometers, and gauges
- Mercury-containing lamps, such as fluorescent lamps and gauges
- FREN-containing devices, such as refrigerators and freezers
- Hazardous waste pesticides.