Park specialist talks Bennett Spring maintenance

The maintenance staff of Bennett Spring State Park is busy in the on- and off-season, as Park Specialist Mitchell Lawson explained in an April interview.

From taking care of the park’s buildings, cleaning shower houses to maintaining its sewer system, Lawson discussed the scope of the work the Department of Natural Resources maintenance staff performs at the park.

“It’s like running a little city, essentially, is what it is,” he said.

While the park uses water from Laclede County Public Water Supply District #1, Lawson explained that the park maintains water booster stations, its own sewer system, and handles the park’s electricity coming in.

In the summertime, Lawson said the maintenance team was split up into tiers with a lead maintenance staff member who helps plan, a specialized fine tuner, and traditional maintenance workers.

Lawson said a large part of the maintenance team’s day was cleaning, and groundskeeping is also a significant part of their work. Two and half to around three hours a day were spent cleaning, and mowing brings its own challenges, like the caution needed when working in campgrounds.

In the on-season, Lawson said situational awareness was important when the staff worked around the public.

Lawson said the staff also renovates cabins, and roofing was also one of their maintenance duties. The park staff also handles special features like the splash pad.

Another recent project was the new shop building, and Lawson said the staff would finish out the interior as they had time.

The maintenance staff switches into another gear for the park’s off-season, which Lawson said was when they had the opportunity to work on their larger projects like renovations because of not having to worry about working around the public.

Work order wise, though, Lawson said the on-season was busier. He said the maintenance staff would have their hands full the night before the opening day and the day after as they discovered things they had not during the off-season.

After a lull, summertime is when Lawson said electrical and HVAC issues keep the staff on their feet.

In the maintenance staff’s downtime, Lawson said they help with stewardship programs and the like. The park also had lots of contract work, he said.

With the amount of work to coordinate, Lawson said he could not stress how much he relied on his team. With a small staff of less than ten that worked well together, Lawson said the team had a routine with their own niches to handle issues that came up.

Some issues affect other areas of the park, with one of Lawson’s examples being the interconnected nature of the water system.

One good thing about the job, he said, that if there was an unenjoyable task to be done, the staff member would move on to something enjoyable over the course of a week.

Lawson did not think people understood the full scope of the work that went into maintaining the park. While people saw the staff mowing, they did not see the miles of sewer and water lines the staff had to maintain.

“It’s just, it’s incredible,” he said. “It really is, for a crew no bigger than the size we got is pretty incredible.”