2 LOCATIONS, 1 WINTRY CHALLENGE
The landscapes of Colorado can be
both brutal and beautiful.
Just ask the Commercial Landscape
Services (CLS) crews who manage
some of Denver's highest-profile
government properties.
In Denver, CLS crews are responsible
for clearing snow and caring for plants
at two large government facilities.
Davey maintains the 623-acre Denver
Federal Center complex in Lakewood,
Colorado, and separately the Denver
Federal District, a collection of five
buildings home to several courthouses
and other government offices in
downtown Denver.
GOOD PEOPLE,
EQUIPMENT ARE CRUCIAL
During warmer months, the
landscapes require less-intensive
maintenance. It's the cold winter
months that test the crews' mettle.
"The Denver Federal Center is
probably the only contract we have
where we use more labor force in the
winter than we do in the summer,"
said Blane Pshigoda, government/
projects division manager.
At the federal center, the task of
running a snow-free operation falls
to Jason Encinias, project manager,
CLS. The client charges Encinias with
keeping roadways and pedestrian
areas safe and free of ice and snow.
The center is home to 28 different
federal agencies spread throughout
44 buildings – with more than
5,000 employees.
"Bottom line, you can't do it without
a committed crew," Encinias said.
"The people on the ground make
the wheels move."
And during a typical winter storm
event a lot of people make a lot of
wheels move. As many as 40 crew
members will operate 24 different
pieces of equipment at the federal
center. The equipment includes four
massive front-end loaders, four large
trucks with plows, four pick-up trucks
with plows, skid steers and other
machines for pushing snow or loading
salt. The other crew members use
hand tools to clear snow.
"During a legitimate snow event, the
crews can be there anywhere from six
hours to 14 hours straight," Encinias
said. "This past winter, we had several
large snow events that lasted two to
MY DAVEY
14
The Davey Bulletin | November/December 2016
So much snow fell at the Denver Federal
Center on March 23, 2016, officials made
the rare call to close the 623-acre campus.
Within minutes of clearing this Denver
Federal Center parking lot of snow, the
March 2016 blizzard had covered it again.
A tree on the campus of the Denver
Federal Center on March 23, 2016,
when 20 inches of snow hit the city.
