Snow season is coming, we’re preparing

Published on January 18, 2018 by Jackson Holliday

At Terracare Associates, we like to prepare. As fall weather settles in and gives way to cooler temperatures, we are preparing our company, teams and equipment to handle colder, nastier weather conditions including freezing rain, blizzards and ice storms in the communities we operate in. Preparation now is essential; it allows us to perform timely, accurate and thorough work when winter conditions and weather hits quickly. Here is what we are currently doing to prepare our teams and clients for the upcoming winter season:

Hiring Staff. These team members are essential to keeping the communities we operate in safe and their roads clear. Staff is typically on-call from October through mid-May. While you stay warm at home, these dedicated team members are in trucks, on ATVs, even out shoveling so the community has access to as safe of conditions as possible. (Looking for extra work? Check out our careers page and apply!)
Training. Training is an on-going process at Terracare Associates. Once staff is hired on, we do conduct an “All Staff” orientation in early October which includes video training, necessary paperwork, equipment training and a driving test with a snow plow. Depending on our contracts with clients, we create curriculum and training around individual routes so our drivers are familiar with the routes before they are deployed to these routes during bad weather conditions.
Setting expectations. Our managers have thorough discussions with property managers and owners, and municipality staff to clarify the expectations of service delivery expected for each snow event. We work with property managers to plan and prepare for a variety of conditions and weather including managing tree and property damage from early season storms, huge storms that may disable an area for a while and more.
Preparing vehicles. Currently, our full-time personnel have started the process of changing over our vehicles from summer work to the winter outfitting of snow plows and sanders. They are running through safety and equipment checklists that include examining and checking tires and conducting preventive maintenance.
De-icing materials. Our team is in the process of gathering, cataloging and preparing materials to combat snowy and icy conditions on the roads. We’ve placed orders on ice melt material orders for most of our municipal contracts and will soon be ordering those same materials for the properties we currently partner with and serve.

If you have not made arrangements for snow removal this season, give us a call or send us a request for proposal and a manager will be in touch to address your needs.

Drive safely and stay warm.

We’re in the winner’s circle!

Published on January 18, 2018 by Jackson Holliday

Terracare Associates captures four prestigious National Awards of Excellence for Landscape Maintenance Services

Our Terracare team is proud to announce we’ve won four 2016 Awards of Excellence by the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP). This tribute recognizes us for outstanding landscape maintenance services honoring the following properties: Ceronix, Inc. and The City of Carlsbad, in California and The City of Grapevine, and CVS Health Tower, in Texas. We have built a strong partnership with our clients and are thrilled to share this award with each of them. Our crew teams work diligently each day to bring out the best in every property. We want everyone to enjoy the outdoors!

Here is our nationally recognized work for 2016:

Ceronix, Inc.; Auburn California

We’ve become the partner service provider that can handle Ceronix’s complex landscaping for their corporate headquarters. Our team helps manage the 21-acre property that doubles as a licensed wildlife sanctuary. Our work has included managing and maintaining ongoing maintenance landscaping, enhancement landscape projects, and irrigation systems.

The City of Carlsbad; Carlsbad, California

We’ve built a strong private public partnership with the city to meet the city’s high expectations for landscape maintenance and enhancements for their park system. We manage and maintain almost 940,000 square feet of turf, including 5 synthetic and 10 natural athletic fields, dog parks, basketball courts, recreational picnic areas, play structures, skates parks, a pool complex and a wide array of landscaping.

The City of Grapevine; Grapevine, Texas

This historical tourist destination is home to more than 50,000 residents and welcomes more than 20 million visitors annually. With so many people living and visiting, the City of Grapevine turned to us to help maintain their beautiful landscapes and functioning infrastructure throughout the 24/7/365, especially during harsh weather like floods and droughts.

CVS Health Tower; Irving, Texas

The client’s goal was to make the challenging landscape around the existing building more sustainable, water conscious and employee-friendly to create a campus park-like setting. They looked to us to bring the expertise, knowledge, experience and manpower to help plan, budget and execute this project seamlessly and to continue the maintenance associated with the building and the landscaping.

NALP strives to recognize professionalism and enhance public perceptions of our industry and its professionals through its awards programs. Our Awards of Excellence showcases superior projects in the areas landscape, lawn care, and interior maintenance, design/build as well as installation, container plantings, and erosion control.

The 6 Step Quick Guide to Brush Management

Published on January 18, 2018 by Jackson Holliday

According to WX Shift, “since 1970 the annual average number of wildfires larger than 1,000 acres has more than double in the western U.S. The typical wildfire season has also stretched by about two and a half months longer over that time.” With years of drought and hotter temperatures stretching into the fall months throughout most of the western U.S., vegetation flammability has increased making wildfires a concern for many municipalities, HOAs and commercial properties. To help curb these concerns, brush management should be an integral part of every landscaping plan.

The USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service defines brush management as “the management or removal of woody (non herbaceous or succulent) plants including those that are invasive or noxious.” Brush management is applied to accomplish many results including reducing fire hazards around structures, helping firefights protect life and property when fires breakout, restoring natural vegetation cover to protect from erosion and more. In the west, many cities, municipalities and counties have established guidelines and rules for managing brush and reducing fire risk. Here are steps to follow when examining and executing brush management:

Step 1: Plan and identify what plants, trees and areas need brush management.

Step 2: Clear as much loose dead wood and invasive species as you can within the area. This will help you see what other plants and trees need care and pruning.

Step 3: Thin the plants and trees in the area. Start by trimming down plants over two feet in height to a height of six inches. This ensures two aspects: the roots remain intact to help minimize soil erosion. Depending on where you are in the country, thinning can be prioritized differently so check with your local county to learn what thinning should be done.

Step 4: Prune all plants or groups of plants that remain after the thinning process. Depending on the type of plant, the “umbrella” shape should be applied where possible. This means pruning lower branches to create umbrella-shaped canopies.

Step 5: Dispose of the cuttings and dead wood properly by either chipping wood to return to your property or by carting it to a landfill.

Step 6: Continue to monitor plants, thinning and pruning annually since plants grow back.

Need help making sure your property is ready for fire season? Send us a note and we’ll work to help you find a custom solution for your property.

Property Highlight: Ceronix, LLC

Published on January 22, 2018 by Jackson Holliday

Our Sacramento area team helps manage and procure the grounds at Ceronix’s corporate headquarters in Auburn, California. The company is an online retailer and supplier for high quality LCD replacement monitors and outdoor displays. Within the Auburn community, Ceronix has become a special area for community and wildlife to relax and refresh. Here are some fun facts about the property:

The 21-acre corporate complex in northern California operates as a wildlife sanctuary.
Its corporate grounds double as a licensed bird sanctuary with rare exotic birds, fish, turtles, and other amphibians.
More than 30 different bird species inhabit the area
The series of streams and ponds are home to more than 2,500 koi fish.
The landscaping maintenance and enhancement projects are so extensive they require a full-time gardener, an aquatics specialist, and experienced crews on the property throughout the week.
The water filtration and management system was so complex that Ceronix worked with TCA and a pond system builder to build, adjust and dial-in efficiencies on new and improved water pumps and irrigations systems. This allowed the high phosphorus stream and pond water to be distributed by a booster pump into the irrigation. The changes to the system and filtration created a true recycled process for both fertilization and conserving water.

Interested in learning about the other properties we’ve maintained, enhanced and procured? Read about our work in Texas and Napa Valley, California.

Why Parking Lots Are Crucial In Making a Great First Impression

Published on January 19, 2018 by Jackson Holliday

As a business or property owner, your parking lot is a crucial aspect of your business, contributing to your business’ overall value and appearance. A freshly sealed parking lot with new striping gives a more mature, complete and professional feel to a business. Incorporating the best preventative and corrective maintenance plans of action into your overall property management and budget will help your business make a solid first impression.

Evaluation

Since parking lots are big part of your property, they require timely and appropriate maintenance. Parking lots sporting many potholes can leave a poor impression on visitors. As a property owner or manager, you should evaluate your entire parking lot and note the types of distress and the severity of those deficient areas. Here is a high-level list of what to look for:

Number of potholes
Approximate square footage of damage and severity of the holes (low, moderate, severe)
Cracking, the amount of square footage and the severity (how wide is the cracking, etc)

Plan of Action

After the evaluation, which can be conducted individually or with the assistance of a professional, a plan of action should be developed for maintenance and incorporated into the facility budget. The maintenance plan should be split into two areas, preventive and corrective. Remember deferred maintenance is often more expensive and larger in scope because of the neglect. Pavement technologies change rapidly, which means plans and costs can change too.

Preventive maintenance is a proactive approach addressing the needs of normal wear and tear. We recommend developing annual, five year and ten year plans. Annual programs should include sweeping, crack sealing and a periodic check for any areas that might show the need for patching before it turns into a full blown pothole or worse. Many of these can be repaired fairly quickly by the use of an Infra-red machine. Next create a detailed five-year plan. It would include the yearly maintenance plan along with a seal coat to renew the asphalt surface and seal the surface from the possible penetration of water. A seal stops water from entering the ground under asphalt, which would allow the expansion and contraction by seasonal temperatures. Projecting out to a ten-year plan, you would include the annual maintenance and add a slurry seal, which would replace some of the thickness that may have worn away and fill ion minor ruts and cracking.

Corrective is the type of work involving removal and replacement of material — think of potholes as a general rule here. Corrective care often involves cutting the area(s) and removing the material, replacing it with fresh asphalt and compacting the asphalt to the level of the existing surface. If the area is large, you now have equipment removing large areas of failed asphalt (or concrete), then re-compaction of the afflicted area and new asphalt laid — a very expensive procedure. Worth noting, irrigation is a common culprit of asphalt failure. Water will find into the weak point in a paved surface and will work its way to the sub-surface where the strength and stability will degrade. This often results in the start of a pothole.

Proper and regular maintenance of parking lots are often susceptible to tight budgets. Try to protect this line item and you will reap the rewards later when you do not have to invest heavily in major repairs. A professional company can help with recommended repairs and the timeline for future maintenance.

3 Reasons to Install Hardscape Enhancements This Year

Published on January 18, 2018 by Jackson Holliday

There are a variety of enhancements property managers, municipalities, and cities can invest in to improve the look, feel and safety of their landscape and property. Implementing a few easy hardscape enhancement can result in benefits to tenants, neighborhoods or citizens. The right blend of landscape and hardscape enhancements can drive visitors to your property through style and attention to detail. We recently highlighted three simple enhancements worth investing in.

Hardscapes can level and shape the look of your commercial property. Hardscapes refer to hard landscape materials which are incorporated into a landscape. Hardscapes include paved areas, retaining walls, amphitheaters, sleeper walls, walkways, picnic or bench areas, and any other landscaping composed of materials such as wood, stone, concrete, etc. which are included in a landscape.

Hardscapes have several benefits:

Create new spaces. build areas for people to gather. Think patios, walkways and other similar hardscapes provide places for groups to meet, eat lunch, and relax. The right installation is welcoming, safe, integrated into the space properly, and increases overall satisfaction for visitors to the property.
Focus on low maintenance. Hardscapes, such as patios and retaining walls, require little maintenance (think time and money) as they help reduce landscaping needs and costs while providing additional ways people can enjoy the space.
Sustainability rules. Consider adding a large rock slab walkway (i.e. flagstone) or permeable pavers to allow water to run off into the surrounding ground. These two options are more environmentally-friendly as they are designed to let rain and other precipitation penetrate the ground directly to nourish plants and replenish groundwater supplies.

Ready to take your commercial property to the next level? Contact us for a free assessment on how and where to best implement these enhancements into your property.

How to Find the Best Commercial Landscape Contractor for You

Published on January 18, 2018 by Jackson Holliday

The pressure to control costs, while maintaining the value and beauty of your property, is a constant balancing act for many commercial property managers. Maintaining the outside areas of your commercial property is much like maintaining curb appeal for your home. In a recent survey of Society of Real Estate Appraisers, 95 percent of the respondents said professional landscape maintenance adds dollar value and can improve attraction to tenants. The property’s overall landscape, well maintained turf areas, floral beds and trees are the first things a potential tenant will see when evaluating property options. Is your property making an impression?

Think about this when you prepare your annual budgets or when you are vetting bids; your landscape should be a priority, not an afterthought. Consideration should be taken for a variety of landscape projects; curb appeal is important to attract tenants, while water-conservation efforts can reduce costs and meet mandated reductions. Significant landscape projects may be needed, so carefully review projects like turf conversion, enhancement projects, or irrigation repairs before you select your landscape contractor. As a property manager, where do you start in determining what landscape services you need, and what is important?

What a Commercial Landscaping Company Can do for Your Property

Commercial landscaping refers to the management and healthcare of the plants, flowers, turf mowing, trees and shrubs. It also includes necessary maintenance services such as irrigation inspection, storm management, plant health care and water conservation improvements. Because of the inherent differences between residential and commercial property, it is often recommended to seek a contractor that specializes in commercial and public landscape services. As a property manager, having a basic understanding of landscaping services may be critically important when you develop your annual budget. It is also very important when you compare landscapers, as not all provide the same breadth and depth of services.

Key Questions to Ask your Current or Potential Landscape Provider

We have developed a qualifier form to help to evaluate and select a landscape contractor. A sampling of questions are:

What size property can the landscape provider or contractor adequately service?
How long has the company been in business?
Does the contractor have the required liability insurance?
Are they licensed to apply pesticides and work irrigation systems?

Knowing what you want in a landscape contractor is essential, properly forecasting and budgeting for your needs is the key to a beautifully well-kept property. Terracare Associates – TCA offers a free service to help you assess your property for landscape services and get what you need.

Contact us for more information about how we can provide the kind of landscape maintenance services your property deserves.

What You Should Know About Retention and Detention Ponds

Published on January 18, 2018 by Jackson Holliday

It’s the middle of summer with hard – dry baked ground surface flash floods and runoff are a likely threat to commercial and public properties. How do you best control and protect your property from heavy rains? In more susceptible flood areas of your property, creating retention and detention ponds can be very effective. These depressions in your property are designed to help minimize the effects and possible damage by heavy rainfall, snow melt and sudden downpours that cause flooding. They help capture runoff that could otherwise damage your well-maintained landscape.

The Definitions

Retention ponds are wet ponds. Typical characteristics include water in the depressed area and steep side banks. Detention ponds are traditionally dry except during flooding weather to help control and manage the movement and settling of water. In some instances, detention ponds are used as a park during dry weather.

Maintenance

Both areas require much of the same maintenance to assure they properly function as they were designed. Both ponds need to be mowed regularly – keeping grass to a height of four to six inches to ensure healthy growth and minimize weeds. Dumping of grass clippings and other items should be discouraged. Herbicides should be used sparingly or not at all, as they could be washed downstream and create toxic conditions. Special care needs to be given to pipes or channels leading in or out of the ponds. Removal of trash and debris are crucial steps to make sure the proper drainage flow is maintained. Plugged channels can create erosion in other areas of the pond causing the integrity of the structure to fail, resulting in greater damage.

Detention ponds often have sediment that settles at the bottom of a pond that needs to be removed once the pond has dried.

Retention ponds tend to need more monitoring because of their purpose – holding water. Slopes of retention ponds need to be checked for erosion at least once per year, and more frequently if the season has been unusually wet. In retention ponds, floating litter, algae and shoreline erosion are common, as well as stagnant water producing odors and breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Sediment build up needs to be documented as the removal process is much more difficult. These conditions require ongoing monitoring and maintenance plans.

Checklist

We compiled a quick checklist to monitor and properly maintain retention and detention ponds and we can offer this service as part of our base maintenance contract if needed:

Routine inspections to evaluate damage to slopes, channels, and outfall structures performed annually and after major precipitation – heavy rainfall, flooding, and snow melt.
Vegetation management to maintain native plant growth at a healthy height (four to six inches) and limited or no use of herbicides.
Trash, litter and debris removal – paying particular attention to inflow and outflow points and devices.
Check equipment of all mechanical devices including fence gates, pumps or valves.

Retention and detention structures were built for the purpose to protect from flooding and to aid in the capture of water runoff from heavy rain or snow falls. When maintained properly, retention and detention ponds minimize the effects and help maintain a protected and beautiful landscape.

Working Together to Keep our Roads Safe

Published on January 18, 2018 by Jackson Holliday

Safety on the roads starts with you. Road maintenance companies go to great lengths to make sure the road is safe for you during construction. Car and truck construction crashes are often times caused by auto drivers not paying attention or are too impatient to slow down. Sharing the road with large vehicles can be dangerous if you are not aware of their limitations. Many trucks are GPS tracked requiring truck and plow drivers to stay within in the speed limit, and possibly slower during inclement weather. As a company, Terracare Associates spends a lot of time and resources educating employees on how to work safer to prevent on the job accidents and to keep the public safe. Every new team member is given full safety training so they are up to “speed” on keeping safe on the roads (no pun intended).

Keeping employees and the public safe on roadways can be challenging because the worksite includes drivers that don’t see the inherent risks. Here are a few guidelines for you to follow when driving around work zones or near trucks on the road:

Mind the Gap – How close should you follow behind that truck? Some signs advise to stay back 200 feet to prevent damage. If you ride too close, the driver can’t see you in rearview mirrors and hence doesn’t know you are there. A good rule to follow is keep one dashed lane marker between you and the truck for every 10 mph you are driving. This distance will allow the driver to see you and will reduce damage to your vehicle by road debris. Don’t pass trucks during inclement weather, patience pays off and reduces accidents. This is especially important when following a snow plow.
Mirror, Mirror – If you can’t see a drivers mirrors, he likely can’t see you. Always position your vehicle so you can see one or both side mirrors and avoid blind spots when possible.
Mobile Disasters – Trucks entering and exiting works zones can create unexpected changes in traffic patterns. Taking your eyes off the road for a few seconds to check your phone can spell disaster. Put the phone away or pullover to take care of business when it can’t wait.
Marked for Success – Work zones are marked to protect you and the road construction project. When you cross a work zone you put your passengers and the workers in danger and a position where damage could happen to your vehicle. Fresh tar, asphalt or paint can damage your paint job or cause your tires to wear prematurely. Pay attention to signs and seek alternate routes when possible.

Safety is most readily achieved when everyone on the job understands the rules for a safe work zone. Terracare believes safety is for your family. Learn more by watching our safety video or reading about our Safety Rodeo.

Steps to create a budget for your commercial landscape property

Published on January 22, 2018 by Jackson Holliday

As a commercial property manager, you may cringe when you hear the word budgets. The challenge lies in figuring out how to budget for your property’s landscape maintenance and receive the services you need to maintain a quality property. Understanding and clearly defining scope of work helps to build an accurate budget and communicate your needs to your landscaper. Eliminate guessing games by using your landscape partner to help determine the level of service you expect year round. We recommend three easy steps to help develop your budget and needs for the following year:

Step 1 – Educate and define services needed

Take the time to assess your property and determine what needs to be serviced over the next year. What services should be included in regular maintenance to keep your landscape in pristine condition? What additional work do you need to ensure a beautiful property in the future? Education on plant and turf requirements and technical landscape best practices can help greatly on determining maintenance requirements. Terracare Associates –TCA offers both one-on-one assistance and in-office workshops to educate your entire staff.

Step 2 – Build your Budget with end result in mind

How do you want your property to look? Include all landscape maintenance services that create the property you want. We have developed a simple budget worksheet exclusively for our customers to easily and quickly define services needed and associated costs. This 10 to 15-minute process assesses landscape services and improvements to help you to develop a comprehensive budget.

Step 3 – Contact your Landscape Professional

Building a complete and accurate budget is daunting, so make it easier by contacting your landscape representative. This is a perfect time to ask for assistance when budgeting and forecasting for next year’s services. TCA assigns a representative to every customer for a consistent and reliable support.

Identify a landscaper who has the right experience, the right focus on customer service, and the right resources to get the job done.

Interested in learning more about budgeting appropriately for next year? Let’s talk today about how to budget for your commercial landscape maintenance needs, and why managing expectations is critical for a positive year long experience.