The winter term brings with it many things. Brisk weather being the most noticeable. Every winter season in Pottstown, PA is subject to at least a few inches of snowfall or other conditions to threaten road safety. This means that there must be some form of maintenance done on the Hill School campus to ensure the well being of the Hill community.

The Hill School grounds facilities must prepare the night before every forecast of snow. Preparations include determining what type of snowstorm will be hitting Pottstown and what type of maintenance will need to be completed.

“Believe it or not, we approach each storm with a plan,” Harvey Peterman, manager of facilities grounds services said. “The type of winter storm we are expecting determines how we go about clearing the campus.”

Once a plan is formed, Hill staff must execute it. This includes having roughly 10 Hill grounds crew members starting work around 7 a.m.

The actual maintenance includes plowing and salting all possible pedestrian walkways around campus, including all public sidewalks surrounding the school. The Borough of Pottstown requires the school to be responsible for keeping said sidewalks safe for the entire Pottstown community.

The 10 Hill grounds employees are responsible for all snow maintenance. Only when heavy snowfall occurs does The Hill School choose to hire the external services of tradesmen. This means that 10 Hill employees are responsible for plowing, shoveling, and salting areas including the quad, seal patio, roads, and all outdoor stairs just to keep the community safe.

The security department would also like to emphasize that no matter what kind of weather is affecting our campus, it is never safe to walk on the frozen Dell.

“The Dell is very dangerous and deceiving when ice covers because the water flow and aeration beneath the ice creates soft spots,” Randy Doaty, director of security, said.

The grounds and security departments work tirelessly to keep our community safe throughout the entire year. Both departments are diligent yet faculty and students rarely have a chance to show appreciation for all their hard work.