By James Bennett III
When general facility manager James Waechter first arrived at USF St. Petersburg seven months ago, the first thing he noticed was the withering, pale grass in the parking lots behind the Student Life Center and the Tavern at Bayboro. Visitors to First Street S. were being introduced to the university with a bunch of dead grass.
With first impressions in mind, Waechter has been working to resod parking lots 5 and 12.
Many have already noticed the exposed earthy underbelly of the torn-out sod.
It will soon be replaced with a fresh installment of Floratam, a type of grass from the St. Augustine family that was developed by the University of Florida and Texas A&M in the 1970s to be chinch bug and SAD virus-resistant.
Floratam is indigenous to Florida and a campus standard used everywhere except on Harborwalk. It flourishes in areas with salty air and thrives in sunlight.
Tom Herzhauser, owner of the Tavern, is happy to see that the lots are being re-sodded. Although it might not triple his profits as new customers flock to see the crisp new grass, it will be easier on the eyes.
“We look forward to laying in the grass and sipping beer and rolling around in it,” Herzhauser said.
The project is coming out of the landscaping budget from the general operating fund. There should be a continuous flow of similar projects as often as the budget allows, Waechter said.
All of the manual labor is being undertaken by Cut-Ups Lawn Service, a minority-led contractor. They were chosen from a pool of other options that were priced competitively.
If all goes well, we should be seeing a bit more green with our gold by Friday, Feb. 1.
