Kansas State University

By Jackie Toburen, Physical Plant Supervisor Senior, Grounds Maint.

It’s Green Up (Mow, Mow, Mow), then Dry up (Water, Water, Water) time on the KSU Grounds.  We have seen a major change in rainfall amounts in the last few weeks.  It seems that when we start putting out the annuals, that’s when it stops raining significantly.  Probably just coincidence, but none the less, it keeps us hopping to keep the landscapes and lawns watered.  Our main campus irrigation team (Mark Fronce, Eric Law and Shawn Wilson) have worked tirelessly for hours on end to get the irrigation systems on main campus up and running.  There have been breaks galore and lots of contractors to work with.  These guys have endured it all and are insuring the plants get watered. Under the leadership of Joe Myers, they are keeping their “heads above water”!

Joe also has responsibility for the team maintaining the main campus landscape and grounds.  His team of Dan McGee, Delmar Westover, Scott Wilburn and Bob Odle take care of the flowers, shrubs, mulching, spraying, fertilizing, pruning, push mowing, weed whipping, and many other facets of the landscape.  Rob Slattery and Ron Parks are utilized in collecting trash on a daily basis, and then they assist the landscape team members with all of the areas mentioned above.

In addition to Mark’s responsibilities on irrigation, he also is responsible for the main campus mowing team.  They (Randy Hobbs, Patrick Standlee, Douglas Prockish, and Derek Stock) keep the main campus mowed and manicured.  They can also be seen out assisting other team members.

Joe has two team members that make up our tree crew, Jim Hartford and Doug Ray. They do the majority of the tree pruning on campus as well as tree removal, when needed.  They have a third member, Augy Gonzales, who helps when needed.  He can also be seen out edging sidewalks, sweeping streets and sidewalks, sweeping (grooming) the Memorial Stadium Field and assisting with mowing.

As many of you might know, in March and April we moved from the Power Plant and the Grounds West Operation, to 141 Dykstra Hall.  We continue to operate a main campus crew and a west crew, but everyone reports to the same place every day.  David Stuhlsatz, supervisor of the west crew, left Facilities on May 31, 2016, to take a job with the Athletics Department, so Jackie Toburen is running their everyday operations.  Hopefully, you won’t see much of a difference in our team’s handling of your needs.  The rest of the team is doing a good job of staying ahead of the needs of their area.  Mary Walgrave is keeping their irrigation systems in check. Donnie Silva, Blake Miles, and John Lacy are keeping everything mowed and also doing other jobs as needed.  Paul Walsh can be seen daily policing his area for trash, putting out sprinklers to water flowers, helping with irrigation repairs and assisting anyone else that needs help. Kelly Guilfoyle does a great job of taking care of the Vet. Med. hospital grounds. Adam Shriner is the team’s mechanic.  He keeps our machinery running! He works on all of our equipment, does preventative maintenance, and even helps mow when needed. His shop is 131 Dykstra Hall but he can also be found in 141 occasionally.

I want to take this moment to thank all of my staff and applaud them on another great year.  Everything looks wonderful, green, and clean.  I appreciate everyone’s willingness to help out in areas that they may not have helped out in before.  The teamwork displayed by our team is phenomenal!

Lastly, I want to welcome Kevin Schindlbeck to our team.  He is our new Director.  He has been here for about 1 month and is learning to find his way around campus.  He is in charge of our department, Custodial, and Recycling.  We are happy to have him on board!!!!

Hello Everyone! Last week Katie and I were staffing the Library’s table at Orientation and Enrollment. One of the people we spoke with is a self-described “super senior” –she’s been at K-State for five years and loves Hale Library. We asked what she particularly loved about Hale and she immediately said “How clean it is!” We told her that the custodial crew gets here in the early morning hours to clean and minimize disturbing people studying or working. She was even more impressed when she found out how early the custodial crew gets here. So we want to send a big “Thank you!” to the custodial crew for Hale Library. We notice your great work and, clearly, so do the students!

-Sara Kearns, Associate Professor – Hale Library

The Division of Facilities will be having their annual “Family Fun Day” next month so mark your calendars now! All Facilities employees and their families are invited.

Facilities would like to congratulate and wish a “Happy Retirement” to        Al Seely and Charles Bukacek!

Al Seely retired from his position as Physical Plant Supervisor Senior in Campus Planning. He has worked for K-State Facilities for 45 years. Jack Carlson, Project Manager for Campus Planning, describes Al as:

“…. always cheerful, helpful, and pleasant to be around. He loves to talk about his children (referring to them affectionately as kid#1 and kid#2), cars and reminiscing about his many years at K-State”

Charles Bukacek retired from his position as HVAC Technician Senior in Building Maintenance. He has been employed by K-State for more than 20 years. According to Tim Brunner, Steam & Chill Plant Manager,

“Charlie has a wealth of knowledge and enjoyed teaching guys that wanted to learn. He will be missed by everyone who is trying to order a bearing or sheave! I would like to wish him well in his retirement and say ‘thanks’ again for his service.”

The role of the Grounds Maintenance and Landscape Department is to provide a safe, functional and aesthetically-pleasing exterior environment for the students, faculty, and staff of Kansas State University. The main campus of K-State consists of 250 acres of intensely landscaped area. The Grounds Maintenance Department is responsible for the maintenance and installation of all turf grass, shrubs, trees, and annual flower beds on campus.

To accomplish their mission, the Grounds Maintenance Department employs thirty-five individuals throughout the year. In addition to the normal grounds and landscape maintenance activities, Grounds Maintenance is responsible for litter pick-up on campus, snow removal on sidewalks, street and parking lot cleaning, underground irrigation systems, Athletic Grounds maintenance, support to special events, and the operation of the Facilities Management tree nursery and green house. Currently, the staff for Grounds and Landscaping include:

Jackie Toburen, Physical Plant Supervisor Senior

Joseph Myers, Physical Plant Supervisor

Mark Fronce, Grounds Maintenance Supervisor II

Adam Shriner, Equipment Mechanic Senior

Augustine Gonzales, Equipment Operator Senior

Douglas Ray, Equipment Operator Senior

John Lacy, Equipment Operator Senior

Donnie Silva, Equipment Operator Senior

Randall Hobbs, Equipment Operator

Blake Miles, Equipment Operator

Douglas Prockish, Equipment Operator

Patrick Standlee, Equipment Operator

Derek Stock, Equipment Operator

Kelly Guilfoyle, Agricultural Technician Senior

Delmar Westover, Agricultural Technician Senior

Robert Odle, Agricultural Technician Senior

Daniel McGee, Agricultural Technician Senior

Scott Wilburn, Agricultural Technician Senior

James Hartford, Agricultural Technician Senior

Shawn Wilson, GMRT Senior

Calvin Law, GMRT Senior

Mary Walgrave, GMRT Senior

Ronald Parks, Utility Worker

Lyndle Slattery, Utility Worker

Paul Walsh, Utility Worker

We want to extend a hearty K-State welcome to Kevin Schindlbeck, our new Director of Facilities Services! Kevin will be overseeing the Custodial Department, Campus Landscape & Grounds, as well as Refuse & Recycling.

Congratulations to Shelly Hauck for her promotion to Physical Plant Supervisor Senior for Building Maintenance Zone 3! She is working for Ed Heptig.

Congratulations to Stephen Anderson for his promotion to Electronic Technologist for the Chill Plant! He will be working for Tim Brunner.

Garrett Heath was hired as a Building Systems Technician at the Power Plant. He is working for Tim Brunner.

Gretchen Johnson was hired as the Administrative Officer for Campus Planning and Project Management. She is working for Diana Hutchison.