Landscape Technician
Landscape Technician
Salary: $43,992.00 - $46,508.80 Annually
Location: 968 Meyer Rd., Wentzville
Job Type: Full-time
Department: PARKS & RECREATION
Job Number: 00587
Closing: 4/30/2021 5:00 PM Central
Summary
Do you love the outdoors and have you always wanted to work for an organization that has the integrity to care deeply about its customers, employees and quality of work? The Wentzville Parks and Recreation Department is focused on improving and maintaining our parks and landscaped areas and our trained landscape professionals take pride in doing the right thing when nobody's watching. In this leadership role you will play a key role in planning, developing and coordinating landscape maintenance activities across the city. For this position, your talents must include a keen eye for detail, a proactive approach to plant care and excellent problem-solving skills. If you feel as though you possess these same qualities then we are the place for you.
Plans, supervises, and participates in skilled horticulture/maintenance work for the city’s parks, recreation centers, public buildings, and gateways. Oversees the work of crews involved in landscape and tree maintenance.
Essential & Ancillary Job Duties
Essential Job Duties
- Develop and implement plans for the successful maintenance of landscaping beds and urban tree canopies, which may include: bioswales, annual and perennial beds, irrigation systems, landscape/waterscape lighting systems, and facility grounds.
- Plan, oversee, and manage major landscape renovation or capital improvement projects including quality controls and the work of external contractors.
- Oversee assigned staff, which includes work allocation, training, and problem resolution.
- Plan, coordinate, and manage landscape beds, bioswales, and urban forests with regular schedules for maintenance, herbicide-pesticide-fungicide applications, fertilization, irrigation, and other related landscape maintenance practices.
- Investigate complaints related to city parks, trees, and landscaping; respond to inquiries and requests from the public and city staff.
- Prepare and maintain manuals, instructions, records, files, reports, and work orders.
- Observe symptoms of tree injuries or diseases; make diagnoses and prescribe treatment.
- Oversee grounds maintenance for city parks and recreation areas.
- Oversee playground equipment maintenance and repair.
- Oversee the irrigation program, which provides for the installation, maintenance, and repair of irrigation equipment in city parks.
- Oversee work of groundskeeping crews, ensuring adherence to safety procedures and proper use of tools and equipment by employees and contractors.
Ancillary Job Duties
- Develop an effective working relationship with the public, other natural resource agencies, industry vendors, and co-workers in and outside of immediate work unit.
- Assist with emergency response (storms, snow, or ice) and snow plowing as needed.
- Perform other related duties as assigned.
Job Qualifications & Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Job Qualifications
Education, experience and training that are required or desirable in order to effectively perform the job at the time of hire. An equivalent combination of education, training and experience will be considered. Additional requirements and/or substitutions may be requested and require the approval of HR.
- Bachelor's degree in Forestry, Plant Science, Horticulture or related field with specialization in Landscape Management desired.
- Minimum of 5 years of experience in tree care, landscaping or irrigation maintenance required.
- Missouri Department of Agriculture Applicators license with Ornamental and Turf Certification within 120 days of employment required.
- Valid Class B CDL within 120 days of employment required. Valid driver's license required upon hire.
- Certified Arborist credential within 120 days of employment required.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
May be representative, but not all-inclusive, of those knowledge, skills and abilities commonly associated with this position.
- Knowledge of cleaning, maintenance, and gardening methods, materials, and equipment.
- Ability to safely and efficiently operate motorized equipment such as push and riding mowers, utility vehicles, and golf carts.
- Ability to properly use hand tools such as hammers, wrenches, picks, shovels, spades, rakes, loppers, saws, or similar tools.
- Knowledge of irrigation techniques using sprinklers, hoses, and flooding methods.
- Ability to understand and follow oral and written instructions.
- Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
- Ability to effectively organize and prioritize work as well as concentrate on multiple tasks simultaneously.
- Ability to work independently and make responsible decisions.
- Ability to use good judgment and think quickly and rationally in difficult or stressful situations.
- Regular attendance is a necessary and essential job duty.
Work Environment & Physical Abilities
Work Environment
Environmental or atmospheric conditions commonly associated with the performance of the duties of this job.
- Primarily an outdoor work environment; exposure to all types of weather conditions is expected.
- Occasional exposure to heavy machinery and dust is expected.
- May be exposed to loud noise levels.
Physical Abilities
The physical demands described below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential duties of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential duties.
- Manual labor including lifting and carrying heavy objects weighing up to 75 pounds is expected.
- Frequently required to stoop, kneel, crouch or bend; reach with hands and arms; handle objects, tools or controls; stand; and walk.
- Occasionally required to sit as well as climb or balance.
- Must be able to speak and hear clearly.
- Must be able to operate cleaning equipment.
- Must have clarity of vision and the ability to adjust focus, judge distance and spatial relationships, identify and distinguish colors.
- Must have finger dexterity and hand-eye coordination.
DOT (CDL) DRIVER SUPPLEMENT
This supplement in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying this position. Employees may be required to follow other job-related instructions and to perform other job-related duties as requested, subject to all applicable state and federal laws. Certain job duties described herein may be subject to possible modification in accordance with applicable state and federal laws.
Background Information
All DOT regulated positions are considered safety sensitive by regulation. Safety-sensitive employees are those employees who discharge duties so fraught with risks of injury to self or others, environmental injury and/or property damage that even a momentary lapse of attention can have disastrous consequences. It is an essential job function safety rule applicable to every employee working in a safety sensitive classified position to be able to work in a constant state of alertness and in a safe manner.
Essential License, Certifications, Registrations and Insurability
All Drivers must have a current commercial driver's license (CDL) in accordance with the standards set forth in 49 CFR PART 391. Federal regulations require random testing of Drivers for drug or alcohol use. Drivers must be insurable at standard rates.
FMCSA Driver Fitness for Duty Statements
- FMCSA Driver Fitness for Duty Statement: The DOT regulations make clear that the City, as a DOT regulated employer, makes the final determination of who is a qualified individual to drive a commercial motor vehicle. The City shall not permit a person to drive a commercial motor vehicle unless the person meets all DOT minimum qualifications and such other more stringent qualifications and requirements relating to safety of operation and employee safety and health. The City may use the services of independent Medical Examiners, Medical Review Officers and Occupational Physicians to make its final determinations.
- FMCSA Driver Clearinghouse Certification: Drivers must be currently cleared without restriction in the FMCSA Clearinghouse to immediately perform FMCSA Safety Sensitive duties as a DOT regulated Driver.
- FMCSA Driver Safety Rule: Requires mandatory reporting by Drivers of off-duty DUI and Drug Offense Arrest and/or Conviction. In accordance with the authority granted to the City by the DOT to impose other requirements to prevent alcohol misuse by Drivers, it is mandatory that Drivers disclose to their supervisor and/or Human Resources by the end of the business day arrest and/or convictions for all alcohol and/or drug related offenses committed while operating any motor vehicle. This will allow the City to immediately remove from safety sensitive functions, Drivers who have engaged in off-duty unsafe behavior related to alcohol or drug misuse (which is directly related to their safety sensitive functions performed for the City) to make determinations as follows:
- If the Driver is fit for duty
- If the Driver is still qualified under DOT regulations to operate a CMV for the City;
- If the Driver is still insurable at standard rates under the City's insurance plan; and
- If the Driver can still meet the essential job functions for the position. It is an essential job function of every DOT regulated Driver that they be qualified and licensed to operate a CMV without the use of a judicially ordered interlocking device, or similar device as part of a diversion or conviction for an alcohol related offense.
Essential Physical Demands
- Hand-eye coordination. Driving a CMV requires that controlled use of multiple limbs on the basis of what a person observes. Federal regulations require drivers to have normal use of their arms and legs.
- Hearing ability. Drivers need good hearing. Federal regulations require the ability to hear a forced whisper in one ear at five feet (with or without the use of a hearing aid).
- Because of possible traffic congestion Drivers are put in stressful situations and must be able to continue to calmly operate their CMV.
- Physical Health. Federal regulations do not allow people to become a Driver if they have a medical condition that may interfere with the operation of a CMV, such as high blood pressure or epilepsy.
- Visual ability. Drivers must be able to pass vision tests. Federal regulations require at least 20/40 vision with a 70-degree field of vision in each eye, and the ability to distinguish colors on a traffic light.
- While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit for long periods of time, stand, walk, use hands and fingers to handle, or feel and reach with hands and arms, and talk or hear, see and inspect, and bend.
Essential Emotional Demands
- Demonstrated past and present ability to safety operate a CMV
- Can read, understand, hear and apply written and spoken directions
- Ability to work in a constant state of alertness and safety awareness
- Ability to work in an unfatigued state
- Ability to accurately gauge lengths of time and distance
- Ability to quickly store and recall instructions in one's short term memory
- Ability to concentrate
- Ability to cope with sudden changes in surrounding and/or emergency situations and/or alarms
- Demonstrated caring, committed and concerned attitude about safety
- Ability to rapidly respond to stimuli
- Possess fast reflexes and unimpaired coordination
- Ability to perform tasks involving high levels of cognitive function and judgement
- Not mentally or physically impaired from any cause that can adversely affect ability to safely and competently perform the DOT regulated functions
- Ability to take prompt and appropriate response to operating conditions
- Not mentally or physically impaired from any cause that can adversely affect ability to safely and competently perform the DOT regulated functions
Agency: City of Wentzville
Address: 1001 Schroeder Creek Blvd, Wentzville, Missouri, 63385
Phone: 636-639-2190, 636-639-2007
Website: http://www.wentzvillemo.org