General Statement of Duties This position performs grounds maintenance and gardening duties to enhance the beauty of assigned grounds and landscaped areas. Distinguishing Features of the Class An employee in this class performs grounds maintenance, landscaping, and gardening duties in the beautification of assigned grounds and landscaped areas. Work assignments may also include assisting other public works crews in mowing City properties, rights-of-ways, public easements, and other grounds facilities, as well as provide unskilled labor in support of trades personnel assigned to maintain roadways, stormwater lines, manholes, and other City property. Work is manual labor in nature and is supervised by a maintenance supervisor or crew leader and is evaluated based on work effort, completion of assigned work, and visual inspection. Illustrative Examples of Work and Responsibilities

• Mow, edge, trim, and water lawns, fields, and other turf grounds; prepare and fertilize soil; water various grounds areas by hand or by operating the irrigation system.
• Plant, cultivate, prune, spray, fertilize, and irrigate flowers, trees, grass, and shrubs; hoe and pull weeds and rake leaves; edge walkways; sweep litter from walks and driveways.
• Perform general grounds cleanup, including picking up paper, trash, and debris on grounds areas, parking lots, playgrounds, and other assigned areas.
• Operate a variety of power-driven equipment such as tractors, mowers, edgers, blowers, chain saws, hedge trimmers, and other equipment used in grounds work; utilize standard gardening and landscaping hand tools; drive a city vehicle to conduct work.
• Apply pesticide and herbicide to control and eradicate weeds and other pests according to established procedures. Application will be supervised by a licensed pesticide applicator.
• Maintain grounds maintenance equipment in safe operating condition; perform minor maintenance on equipment such as changing blades, greasing, and changing oil.
• Enter and close work requests.
• Participate in street and parking lot snow and ice plowing operations.
• Maintain routine records related to pest control and assigned activities.
• Assist with the maintenance and repair of irrigation systems as assigned.
• Various other duties may be assigned as needed. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• Knowledge of basic grounds maintenance procedures, including mowing, edging, raking and weeding.
• General knowledge of the methods, equipment, and materials used in gardening and grounds maintenance work.
• Knowledge of cultivating, fertilizing, watering, and spraying of flowers, trees, and shrubs.
• Knowledge and skill in the operation and maintenance of hand and power tools and equipment used in grounds maintenance.
• Knowledge and ability to perform basic record-keeping techniques.
• General knowledge of health and safety regulations.
• Ability to perform a variety of grounds maintenance and gardening duties in the beautification of assigned grounds and landscaped areas.
• Ability to mow, edge, water, weed, fertilize, rake, and cultivate lawns, flower beds, athletic fields and other landscaped areas.
• Ability to perform a variety of grounds maintenance and gardening duties in the beautification of assigned grounds and landscaped areas.
• Ability to maintain athletic areas in a safe condition.
• Ability to operate hand and power tools and other equipment used in grounds maintenance
• Ability to learn methods and materials used in controlling weeds and other pests.
• Ability to receive, understand, and successfully carry out instructions from supervisors.
• General knowledge of safe working regulations and practices.

Physical Requirements Employee must have manual dexterity of hands and fingers to operate grounds maintenance equipment and plant flowers, shrubs, and pull weeds. Employee must also be able to stand and bend for long periods of time working in the gardens and grounds area. Employees lift, carry, push or pull heavy objects such as bags of fertilizers and compost. Employees must also sit to operate tractors, mowers and other machines and bending at the waist, kneel or crouch, reach overhead, above the shoulders and horizontally. Work is heavy physical labor which includes climbing ladders, working around machinery with moving parts, and working at heights. W orking Conditio ns Employee works primarily in outside environmental conditions which may include extreme cold and heat. Employee is subject to hazards including operating with on in close proximity to mechanical equipment and atmospheric conditions due to exposure to fumes, odors, dirt, soil contamination, and dusts as well exposure to chemicals used in pest control and weed abatement. Employee is subject to noise causing the employee to shout in order to be heard above the ambient noise level. Minimum Education and Experience High School graduate or GED is preferred. Some experience in grounds maintenance and/or horticulture work is desirable; or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Special Requirement

• Valid North Carolina Driver's License (Class C) - without restrictions.
• Employees in this class must be capable of working regular work hours and be available to work weekends or holidays, and available for call-in duty in emergencies.