UCCS FACILITIES SERVICES
October-December 2014
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed
in overalls and looks like work.” - Thomas Edison
The Gift of Service
The holiday season is a time for family, friends, and giving. Some give gifts and others give their time.
This year a few of our Facilities Services crew gave both: the gift of kindness wrapped in a smile, and the
gift of service. This was all done through the Manitou Springs community Christmas Dinner sponsored by
the Salvation Army
Pictured to the left:

Rick Landis, Keith
Valentine, Melissa
Getz, Tim Balagat &
Santa Claus
Public Safety vs. Facilities Services
Chili Cook-Off By: Kristy Hignite
October 22nd Facilities Services
and Department of Public Safety
went head to head in the 2nd
Annual Chili Challenge. We had
a very distinguished panel of
judges; Julie Brewster, Joel Bagley, Ralph Giese, and Vicki
Schober. Our judges had to
taste test 10 chili’s with creative
names like “Mean Green w/
Bean”, “No Name Chili”, Santa’s
Special Chili”, “Green with Envy
Chili”, and “Change Order
Chili”. This year’s winner from
Facilities Services was Deanna
Ely with her “Cowboy Chili” she
received a high score of
9.75. Department of
Public Safety’s winner
was Larry Darnall with
his perfect 10 pot of chili
called “Ebola Red”. The
overall department winner for a second year in
a row is Facilities Services
– who beat out DPS with an
average score of 6.8775 to
DPS’ 6.75. A fun time was
had by all. Who will be
brave enough to take on
Facilities Services next year
in the Chili Challenge?
JUST AN FYI
The Facilities Services Department has an
online system to submit your work request. Please go to:
http://arc.uccs.edu/uccs/menupage.cfm
For questions or assistance with completing
this online form please contact our services
desk.
Monday-Friday 7:30am to 5:00pm at 2553313
Facilities Services Cell 7:30am-11:00pm at
492-8329
The Facilities Services department consists of four main units; the
university’s Physical Plant, the university’s Planning, Design and
Construction, the university’s Sustainability Office and the Auxiliary
Operations. The university’s Physical Plant has four work groups;
Building Maintenance, Outdoor Services, Electrical Maintenance
and Custodial Services in the university’s office and classroom
buildings and grounds. The Planning, Design and Construction unit
oversees all the design and construction on the campus. The Sustainability Office provides sustainability programming, oversees the
recycling program and provides oversight of the campus energy
use. The Auxiliary Operations unit provides building maintenance,
grounds maintenance, and custodial services for the auxiliary buildings such as the University Center, the housing facilities and other
student support facilities.
UCCS FACILITIES SERVICES
Page 2
NEW HOUSING
BY CAROLYN FOX
Construction of the new Village at Alpine Valley is in full
swing.
If you didn’t make it to the ‘beam topping ceremony’ there’s still plenty to see.
June Anderson used any and
all means necessary in order
to pass her CMV training.
Rising out of the ground of former parking Lot 9, are three
new buildings: La Plata House, Cucharas House and the Roaring Fork Dining Hall.
Closest to Antero , the concrete structure of La Plata House is taking form. The ground floor
of La Plata will provide mail and laundry for the Village, along with staff offices. The four
upper levels will be occupied by student suites, reading alcoves and a lounge on each level
to accommodate floor meetings.
The lower level of Cucharas will accommodate 5 classrooms. Similar to La Plata, the five
upper levels of Cucharas will be comprised of residential suites, alcoves and lounges on
each level for floor meetings. The concrete structure of this building is nearing completion
and the exterior framing indicates where future windows will be installed.
The steel structure of new Roaring Fork Dining Hall is also taking
shape. Four hundred diners will be accommodated on two levels in
the main dining room. We’ll have astounding views from the upper
level of the dining hall, out over the new Alpine Garage and Field, and
on to Pikes Peak. In addition, there will be a multi-purpose room, an
outdoor seating deck, and a retail store providing the opportunity for
quick snacks and coffee.
CMV Training!
Many of our employees
became certified for commercial motor vehicles
this last quarter. We place
a great amount of importance on safety, both
of our employees and
those around us.
These three buildings will all be completed in time for student occupancy in Fall of 2015.
We’ll immediately shift to Phase II of this project which will include a fourth new residence
hall, San Juan House.
This last building, along with new landscaping around the entire Village including Antero,
Crestone and Shavano, will be completed by August 2016.
Say Hello to
Our New
Employees
Not pictured:
Anthony Cordell
Nicollo Lopez
Maryah Lauer
Brandon Bishop
Shal DeLuna
Victoria Lindgreen
Haley Reed
Jordan Ramos
Heather Allen
Katherine Nierengarten
Ryan Fridmanis
Donah Grassman
Toby Wuellner
William Kernc
Page 3
The Big Blue Bucket
Warning: Very few events in the following story are actually true.
There once was a painter
whose name was Keith.
He had always dreamed of
one day painting pieces
comparable to those of
Michelangelo. He worked
and he worked for years
on end waiting for an opportunity to showcase his
work. When he graduated
high school he worked for
a local painter of houses in
order to perfect his large
brushstrokes. After a couple of years in the industry
Keith was recognized for
his immaculate painting
skills, and was offered a
job at the University of
Colorado Colorado
Springs.
There was one particular
day, following these
events, which Keith will
always remember. He
was painting, a mostly
irrelevant wall, when his
phone started ringing.
Upon answering he realized he was speaking to
the curator of the Metro-
politan Museum of Art.
Somehow, A copy of
one of Keith’s pieces
had entered into the
hands of Inigo Montoya and he was interested in showcasing it. At
this exact moment Keith’s
foot slipped off the ladder
he was standing on, into a
big blue bucket of paint.
“Noooooo,” Keith yelled,
because the only thing he
valued more than his artwork was his shoes.
Tips for staying
safe on those
slippery days:
‘Tis the Season...
Nothing says “Happy Holidays” like
ugly sweaters, great company, and
a pile of delicious food.
This year we were able to celebrate with Auxiliaries Services for
the first time, and are now proud to say that it was a success.

Wear shoes
(preferably boots) with
a tread on the bottom.

In addition to appropriate shoes, always assume that all surfaces
are icy. Walk flat footed, and keep your
hands out of your
pockets.

Bring a heavy coat
with you wherever you
go, even if just a short
distance. You can’t
predict if you will end
up outside for a longer
period of time than
anticipated.

Always be extra cautious while driving, but
especially when approaching a stop or
intersection.

Try to always be
aware of when the
storms are scheduled
to arrive, in order to
ensure you are properly prepared.
The winner of the ugly sweater contest was our very own Jeff
Reed. Brad Johnson had a long running winning streak that has
now been put to rest.
Snow Removal
Snow season makes for a very busy Facilities Services. Rick Landis
gives a brief overview of the process:

Watch news for the arrival time of the storm.

Determine what coverage we will need for the evening
(keeping campus clear from 7:00 am to 12:00 pm).

Split crews for evening and morning coverage.

Morning crews come in at 3:30 am to have roads, parking lots,
as well as stairs and walk ways cleared by 6:30 am.

Campus is divided up between the trade groups
(Each group has an area of campus they are responsible
for).

Our Snow removal Goal is to have campus open by
7am. Then our crews start their regular shift or prepare
to start all over again if the storm persists.