How K-State facilities moved a mountain

When historic snow blanketed K-State's Manhattan campus, these teams of essential workers sprang into action.

Randy Hobbs, landscape technician, uses a spade to pick ice off of a sidewalk in front of K-State's Call Hall. Following a historic snowfall in early January, K-State facilities workers collectively cleared more than 270 acres of roadways and parking lots and 30 miles of entrances.

By Emily Boragine and Rafael Garcia
K-State News and Communications Services

Monday, Jan. 27, 2025

 

You can't move a mountain in a day. But if you're K-State's Division of Facilities, you can move it in four.

After historic snowfall across Manhattan earlier this month, it took a small army of K-State Facilities workers to clear more than 14.5 million cubic feet of snow — enough to bury Wagner Field at Bill Snyder Family Stadium 130 feet deep — from the Manhattan campus's roads, sidewalks, parking lots and entryways.

But neither sleet nor rain nor gloom of ice could stop the teams of plow drivers, landscape technicians and custodians from reporting to their jobs and restoring K-State to full operations.

"Over the course of the four days between the start of the ice and the all-clear to open campus, we had about 100 people who responded to campus and assisted in clearing it in some way," said Chris Salmon, assistant vice president for campus infrastructure. "When we needed them, our people made considerable efforts to get here and be here."

This is how K-State Facilities workers moved a mountain.

Melanie Coble, custodian, clears snow from the receiving dock at the Unger Complex.

Before the first snow

Long before the first flakes fell, K-State facilities leaders gathered to coordinate the university's winter weather operations.

Discussions for this winter began at the end of last year's, Salmon said — taking what teams learned, estimating the amount of supplies needed and making sure equipment is ready. Preparations included getting a contractor set who would help with snow removal, if it was needed.

"Had we not mobilized like that in advance, this could've been an overwhelming amount of work for our team," Salmon said. "Having them allowed us to focus on the main areas of campus, while they helped out with some of the peripheral parts."

With this recent storm, planning for that started in the week ahead, even before it was certain the area would receive as much snow as it ultimately got.

Once ice began forming that Saturday, advance teams of facilities workers stayed on campus and would not leave for several days as they monitored and helped inform the response efforts.

Garret Heath, Iris Holloway and Jacob Boggess — workers for K-State's Division of Facilities — were instrumental in returning the Manhattan campus to full operations following historic snowfall. "If it wasn't for them, we'd probably still be removing snow, even two weeks out," said Tim Brunner, director of power plant and utilities. "They did a great job, and they were selfless in what they did for campus."

‘No small feat‘

As soon as the snow slowed, facilities workers began removing any accumulation.

One set of teams, including power plant and infrastructure workers, used skid loaders and trucks equipped with plows and salt spreaders to clear snow from the more than 277 acres of roadways and parking lots on the university's main campus, said Tim Brunner, director of power plant and utilities.

For this month's storm, Brunner's team — with contractor assistance — moved more than 300 truckloads of snow, or more than 100 kilotons, off of campus roads and parking lots to the parking lot north of the Chester E. Peters Recreation Complex (K-State Athletics handles its own snow removal).

"I'm so proud of everything we did, but especially how quickly we did it," Brunner said. "We could have probably been okay to open by late Tuesday (two days after the snow), but we held off so we could make sure everything was adequately salted. For the amount of snow we had, it was no small feat to get campus operational in just a few days."

Another team of landscape technicians worked to clear snow from approximately 30 miles of sidewalks and paths around campus.

While the crews typically use spinning brushes attached to the front of utility vehicles to clean sidewalks, the mix of ice and heavy snow for this particular winter storm meant the workers needed to switch to blade and snow blower attachments.

Some areas, though, needed more of the specialized touch of shoveling by hand. Landscape technicians handled sidewalk ramps, while custodians made sure their assigned buildings' entrances remain accessible, said Linda Craghead, director of facility services.

"So much of our work is about thinking about access, but from every perspective," she said. "Even though one student might be able to walk across or over a small pile of snow, another might not be able to maneuver their wheelchair through it. Our team makes sure every building is safe for the students, faculty and staff who learn and work in them."

K-State's Manhattan campus received approximately 15 inches of snow following a historic storm in early January 2025.

A special kind of magic

Across all of the teams, about 100 facilities workers mobilized to get campus back to full operations in the days following the snowfall, Salmon said.

Several worked consecutive 16-hour days.

"Our facilities team — they keep proving why they're essential," Salmon said. "For our team, it's about visible leadership with these events. Our leaders, including people like Tim and Linda, were here on campus for a week straight to get the work done. We do as much as we can with the people we do have, and I hope the university appreciates everything they do."

With campus largely clear and the remaining snow beginning to melt, the workers are taking a chance to catch their breath before the next winter storm comes.

Bill Burris, Brian Sheets, Sydney Callaway — members of the K-State's landscape team — pose in front of a mound of snow they helped clear.

"It's been exhausting work," Craghead said. "But I think there's a sense of pride for all of us, and a sense of satisfaction knowing that we were able to pull this off. When you come in and shovel that kind of snow, it can feel like you'll never get it done. With the sense of camaraderie and collaboration we built, though, we got it all done, and that was awesome."

For many students who only returned to K-State a week after the snowfall, it may seem like magic that campus looks like a winter wonderland while sidewalks and streets are clean, Craghead said.

It is a special kind of magic, she said, and it's the magic of the Division of Facilities' efforts.

"When we do a good job, it can create this expectation that this work just happens, but it doesn't," Craghead said. "It takes a lot of hard work and long hours, but we're proud to give this effort and serve the university in that capacity."