HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-10-045 - Turf Operations - Community Services Operations DivisionREPORT
Report To:
Community Services Committee
Date of Meeting:
June 21, 2010
Submitted By:
Jim Witmer, Director of Operations
Prepared By: Jim Witmer, Director of Operations
Ward(s) Involved: All
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Date of Report:
June 16, 2010
Report No.:
CSD-10-045
Subject:
TURF OPERATIONS - COMMUNITY SERVICES
OPERATIONS DIVISION
RECOMMENDATION:
That this report be received for information.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
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Turf/grass cutting commenced on April 27 this year. This report provides Committee and
Council with a summary of the resources used and the status of Operations turf/grass cutting to
date on parks, parkettes, public areas such as boulevards, road allowances and islands, cul-de-
sacs, trails edges, downtown turf, schools, City facilities, City owned lots, Hydro rights of way
and natural areas. It does not include sportsfields.
BACKGROUND:
Over 1636 locations of varying sizes, located throughout the City, totalling in excess of 3000
acres are cut as part of turf operations. As of the date of this report approximately all of these
locations have received their first cut for this year.
REPORT:
The first activity that is performed as part of the grass cutting work program is picking up litter at
these locations throughout Kitchener. This year we started picking litter in March due to the
early spring season and lack of snow cover. Approximately three to four weeks is spent picking
up the litter before grass cutting is started. This year we began cutting the turf on April 27th
which was two weeks earlier than 2009. Weather conditions dictated this early start.
Temperatures this spring have also been above the norm and although we have not
experienced more precipitation than usual the unseasonably hot weather has created optimum
growing conditions for weeds, especially dandelions. All this has led to the greater turf growth
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which is taxing the resources that we use to perform this work. This year’s growth is
significantly greater than that which was experienced last year.
In 2005 a Community Turf Maintenance Program Report was developed and included the
following chart of standards. Currently eight trim crews for city routes, one (1) trim crew for
property standards violations and two crews for Regional contract work each equipped with a
truck, trailer, mower, trimmers and a hand blower are used to complete our work. Also utilized
are three flail mowers and five trackless mowers.
Turf Assets by Class
Asset Type Class/Priority StandardObjective
(cut height – cm) (Preferred cutting
height)
Downtown turf and 110 (4”) 10 (4”)
parkettes
City hall
Primary parks
Neighbourhood and district 210-25 (4”-10”) 15 (6”)
parks
Schools
City facilities
Boulevards and road 315-30 (6”- 12”) 15 (6”)
allowances
Cul-de-sacs
Crosswalks and walkways
Pumping stations
City owned lots
Hydro rights-of-ways 420-30 (8”-12”) 20 (8”)
Natural areas 51-3 cuts/year 1-3 cuts/year
Also, spare equipment is available should breakdowns occur. Nineteen full time and thirteen
temporary staff are used for this work. In total thirty two staff are used for grass cutting. Large
open areas are cut with flail and trackless mowers. Trim crews cut the smaller areas such as
cul-de-sacs and parkettes. They are also used to trim in areas that require the larger mowers.
There are times when the trimming precedes the cutting and vise versa.
At present, 96% of the turf has been maintained in accordance with the standard ranges listed
above. However, it is our objective to cut the turf at the preferred height as it provides for better
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growing conditions for the turf when only 1/3 of the height is removed at on time. It also takes
less time to cut the grass as the speed of the mowing equipment can be maintained. There is
less clumping of grass left over when it is cut and residents see a neater appearance when we
are able to respond in the 3 week cycle. Optimum growing conditions for turf also results in
reduced opportunities for weed growth. Problems that have impacted our performance to date
range from wet ground conditions where we cannot cut the grass, excessive grass growth and
weeds. With the ban of any herbicides for the control of weeds, dandelions have contributed
significantly to the complaints received regarding the aesthetics of our parks, boulevards, cul-
de-sacs and open spaces. This allows weeds to grow up to twelve to eighteen inches in height.
We cannot cut the grass frequently enough to control the weeds. The standards above are
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unable to be met during the growth season even if we were to meet our 3 week cycle objective
as the grass can grow significantly during that time period.
Based on our self imposed objective, we are only able to maintain the turf at a rate of 52%
compliance as observed in the chart below.
Class/Priority Number of ObjectiveObjective ObjectiveNumber of
LocationsMetNot Met Locations and
Variance to
Standard
1184”71110 = 1”
1> 5”
2 & 3 11796”608571155 = 1”
195= 2”
3 = 3”
197 = 4”
21 > 4”
4358”20154 = 1”
9 = 2”
2 > 2”
5615”600
Staff has been experimenting with corn gluten as a trial application to reduce weed growth. At
present this is cost prohibitive based on current pricing. We are continuing to speak with
industry representatives to try and find alternate cost effective solutions.
The coordination between City forces and the contractor cutting Hydro rights-of-way has been
put in place again for this year. Presently, all these areas that could be cut have been.
Approximately twenty percent have not been touched because they are too wet and cannot be
accessed.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
At the time of this report we have spent approximately 13% of our annual turf maintenance
budget of $1,275,700. In the last two budget deliberations, additional resources have been
identified and requested in the turf maintenance area however, due to budget constraints they
have not been able to be approved. The additional staff identified were 2 trim crews (4
temporary staff) with 2 trucks, 2 trailers and 2 tractors. The additional annual cost for staff and
equipment was estimated at $170,000. We have made a conscious decision not to work
overtime due to the budget constraints this year, however in order to respond to the growth flush
in previous years (except 2009) we incurred on average an additional $220,000 for overtime.
COMMUNICATIONS:
Staff recognizes that communication is a very important aspect of any work program especially
for something as high profile as grass cutting. In this regard staff met with the Corporate
Contact Centre (CCC) to develop key messaging around the provincial herbicide ban, our
cutting frequency and turf maintenance standards. When requested by the CCC or Mayors
office we will review the area in question of a complaint and are able to respond to the
complainant identifying approximately where and when the trim crews will be completing that
particular area.
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CONCLUSION:
The turf maintenance section of Operations is a high profile service that we provide to the
residents and many city supported facilities. Resident’s service level expectations are very high
even during times of extreme growing conditions and are a source of many complaints during
the spring and fall growing seasons. Our ability to respond to these conditions and meet the
expected service levels within budget continues to be our focus and our measurement of
success. We will continue to cut the required turf assets as quickly as we can with the available
resources and within the allocated budget.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Pauline Houston, General Manager, Community Services Department
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