A late morning-closing of the gym on Friday, after the delayed opening at 9 a.m., was a cautionary act in part because of the snow, according to Dennis Garbini, vice president of administrations, and John Signorello, associate vice president of facilities and operations.
They said the roof of the fit- ness center is made to flex and contract to a certain degree and they noticed there was a gap there that never appeared before.
So to make sure the roof was structurally sound, the gym was closed and workers went in and ascertained everything was still safe. "It was the first time we experienced that type of thing in that facility," Signorello said. Garbini said the roof only flexed 1/4 of what it is safely allowed.
"Better be safe than sorry," Garbini said.
Garbini and Signorello also said the snowstorms have not made the University short of salt, even though New Jersey is.
"We didn't run into a problem," Signorello said. "We never actually ran out. We just got three shipments last week."
He said they did a regional search for it from Delaware to Boston and fortunately found some, although he said he can't remember exactly where they did find it.
Garbini said it was fortunate they found the shipments since so many regions have been getting hit with snow this winter.
They did have to put sand down at one point, but not because there was a shortage of salt, but because the salt melts and freezes immediately when the weather is too cold, according to Garbini.
Garbini and Signorello are currently assessing the snow removal budget.
They said they do not want to run out, but since winter will be ending soon, they do not want to order so much salt that they end up having to store it.
For now, workers have been moving the snow to the Galleon lawn and hauling it off campus.
In past years, snow has been moved to the top floor of the parking deck. However with the complaints about parking, Garbini and Signorello asked to keep all levels of the deck open.
They said each snowstorm has to be handled differently.
Although, cleanup time usually ranges between three and four hours, depending on how cold it is, according to Garbini and Signorello.
"Every snowstorm is (as different as) every snowflake," Garbini said.
Seton Hall employees have been working to keep campus running and as clean as possible through the snowstorms.
"Gourmet sleeps overnight, mainly in the kitchen area," Garbini said. "Whenever there is a (bad) weather forecast, like when Sandy hit, Gourmet keeps them overnight."
He said the same goes for facilities workers.
Construction workers also do not get a day off when the University closes.
Garbini said contractors kept working during the storms, but they had to constantly stop and remove the snow. All plans are still on schedule, though.
"We've had issues working around the snow, but it won't delay the projects," Signorello said.
Lindsay Rittenhouse can be reached at lindsay.rittenhouse@student.shu.edu.
