LW heroes brave storms to keep LW dry

SERVICE MAINTENANCE

by Ruth Osborn

rutho@lwsb.com

California’s string of wet weather brought heavy rain, high-powered wind and street flooding to Leisure World March 21. It was the 12th atmospheric river to hit the state this winter—and despite a flood watch and winds reaching up to 35 miles per hour, Service Maintenance crews were everywhere all night long.

They were spreading plastic over leaky roofs, securing downed trees and light poles, and clearing clogged storm drains to keep water moving off streets. That was in addition to all the regular calls for broken water lines, pipe stoppages and other more routine work orders.

“Believe it or not, we are still shorthanded in the department,” said Service Maintenance Director Ruben Gonzalez. “Still, we managed to cover all the calls.”

No small feat. Crews were dispatched all night long to leaky Mutual buildings to tarp entire roofs in plastic, which then had to be anchored by sandbags that workers hoisted up from the beds of pickup trucks. As fast as one building was secured, calls came to stop leaks in others. Crews hustled from one job to the next in an all-out effort to keep LWers’ homes dry from the torrential rain. Also reported were leaks in carports, a clubhouse and the GRF news office.

2023 has brought an unusually agres- sive season of wintery rain. In January alone, Service Maintenance answered 107 calls for service related to tarping and resecuring plastic on leaky roofs. From the beginning of February to last week, crews covered about 98 roofs; that’s a season-long total of 205, and the calls for service are still coming, according to Jay Abili, GRF Service Maintenance dispatcher.

In addition to roofs, other weather-related calls included securing downed trees and blown-over streetlights, and pulling debris from storm drains, a job that needed constant monitoring.

“The Service Maintenance crew went above and beyond the call of duty,” said Gonzalez. “They worked long hours in the rain and wind to keep the community as safe as possible.”

It’s like the famous Postman’s Motto: Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night keeps Service Maintenance staffers from the swift completion of their calls for service.

Given how hard and long they battled the elements last week, they deserve lots of pizza and a job-well-done pat on the back for working reliably and dependably through all conditions and in any storm.

Service Maintenance answered regular calls for service inaddition to dozens of weather-related calls, like this one tosecure a downed tree.