The fall crop of leaves was raked from October through December 1965. Snow and ice were removed from walks, steps, and roads on the following dates: January 22, 1966. January 26-February 12, 1966. This included spreading sand and ice-removing pellets on streets, steps, and walks. January 14, 1965: Started construction for three parking areas at rear of Botanic Garden Conservatory, Independence Avenue side. This job was completed July 2, 1965. Eighty-four cubic yards of concrete were poured and finished by Capitol Grounds crew. Upon completion of resurfacing of the Capitol plaza and drives, the white lines for parking spaces were repainted by Capitol Grounds forces. Beginning December 9, 1965, the following new traffic signs were installed around the Capitol: 153 parking by permit only; 20 no parking any time; 8 no parking here to corner; 11 do not enter; 9 stop; 2 keep right; 4 no left turn; 4 crosswalk; 2 no right turn; 2 15 m.p.h.; and 2 reserved, Members only. PLUMBING DIVISION The following work was accomplished by this Division on the underground sprinkler systems and sewers for the period March 1, 1965, through March 15, 1966: March 1-10, 1965: Repaired broken water main on Louisiana Avenue, and worked on waterline in vicinity of Southwest subway. March 11-27, 1965: Installed marble drinking fountain, east front, Senate side of the Capitol on plaza. March 29-April 10, 1965: Installed marble drinking fountain, east front, House side of Capitol on plaza; installed waterlines for hose connections in square west of 576. April 12-17, 1965: Installed marble drinking fountains on East Capitol Street on plaza. April 19-May 1, 1965: Installed underground sprinkler system at Botanic Garden Conservatory, Maryland Avenue side. May 3-15, 1965: General maintenance and repair on sprinkler system Senate side of Capitol. May 17-June 5, 1965: General maintenance and repair to sprinkler system west front lawn of Capitol Grounds. June 7-26, 1965: General maintenance and repair to sprinkler system House side of Capitol Grounds. June 28-July 31, 1965: General maintenance and repairs to sprinkler systems Senate Office Building courtyard, top of Senate garage, Taft Memorial, north of Senate Office Building; replaced six 3-inch valves. August 2-17, 1965: Repaired valves and water leaks, installed buffalo boxes. August 18-September 18, 1965: Cleaned sprinkler heads on Capitol Grounds. September 20-October 8, 1965: Replaced portions of sprinkler system over Southwest subway construction area. October 11-November 6, 1965: Replaced sprinkler heads; installed 3-inch valves on top of Senate garage; installed hand valves Senate courtyard. November 8-27, 1965: Made stanchions for street sign bases and painted same. November 29-December 5, 1965: Replaced 8-inch valves, Independence Avenue and Constitution Avenue, working with District of Columbia Department of Sanitation. December 6-23, 1965: Installed new traffic signs. December 27-January 11, 1966: Cleaned out catch basins on east front; connected end of fireline blowoff from House side and Senate side of Capitol to sewer drain lines. January 12-March 5, 1966: Repaired sprinkler lines Supreme Court Building; installed buffalo boxes; general maintenance; installed hand valves E Street and Massachusetts Avenue NE. The following material was either installed or replaced during this period: Valves.-17 3 inch; 14 21⁄2 inch; 1 2 inch; 1 11⁄2 inch; 7 14 inch; and 3 4 inch. Couplings.-36 3 inch; 36 21⁄2 inch; 2 2 inch; 8 11⁄2 inch; 21 14 inch; 25 1 inch; 574 inch. Copper pipe.-10 feet of 3 inch; 90 feet of 21⁄2 inch; 90 feet of 2 inch; 85 feet of 12-inch; 140 feet of 14 inch; 120 feet of 1 inch; and 275 feet of 3⁄4 inch. Miscellaneous bends and tees.-92 each. Buffalo boxes.-15. Sprinkler heads.-149. Brass nipples.-143. REPORT ON THE STATUS OF THE TREE SURGEON'S WORK, AND THE TREES ON THE CAPITOL GROUNDS There are approximately 2,200 trees and 8,700 shrubs being grown and cared for on the Capitol Grounds. All of these tree; and a percentage of the larger shrubs and vines are maintained by the tree surgeons and helpers assigned to the Capitol Grounds forces. These trees and shrubs represent an excellent cross section of plant material which is grown throughout the Nation, and as of the fall of 1965 the following are the number and species of trees and shrubs which are growing on the Capitol Grounds: Trees.-18 ash, 39 beech, 5 birch, 4 catalpa, 28 cherry, 40 chestnut, 2 coffee trees, 61 crabapple, 152 dogwood, 302 elm, 2 fig, 1 fringe tree, 70 ginkgo, 1 golden raintree, 2 gordonia, 1 hackberry, 15 hawthorne, 2 hemlock, 3 hickory, 32 holly, 4 hornbean, 89 linden, 114 magnolia, 148 maple, 7 mugho pine, 851 oak, 4 osage orange, 3 pecan, 1 persimmon, 3 pine, 7 redbud, 2 redwood, 19 sophora, 3 spruce, 108 sycamore, 53 tulip tree, 2 varnish tree, 40 walnut, 3 yellow wood, and 2 zizyphus. Shrubs.-208 abelia, 41 acuba, 498 azalea, 36 barberry, 903 boxwood, 9 buddleia, 5 Camelia Sas., 27 Cleyera Jap., 423 cotoneaster, 35 crepemyrtle, 5 euonymus, 48 forsythia, 3,841 holly, 31 junipers, 966 ligustrum, 9 lilac, 47 mahonia, 301 osmanthus, 16 Philadelphus, 31 photina, 22 rhododendron, 228 santolina, 105 spirea, 873 taxus, 11 viburnum, 5 vitex, and 15 weigela. Many of the oaks, elms, and sycamores within the Capitol Grounds have been inspected by a plant pathologist from the U.S. Department of the Interior this past summer. It is his opinion that the condition of the oaks has improved since his visit the previous year; however, the sycamores are still being attacked by a plant virus, causing many to die back. The chemical spray program which was recommended by the plant pathologist has be n executed this past year. Fewer trees have died this past year. Many of these were old trees which died due to environmental conditions, old age, and storm damage. The following work was accomplished by this group during March 1, 1965, through March 25, 1966: March 1-27, 1965: Trimmed, pruned, and topped-out trees in vicinity of lot 732; removed and sawed up trees along Independence and New Jersey Avenues SE., worked on trees in vicinity of Old House Office Building; pruned oaks along Independence and New Jersey Avenues NE., and helped remove and saw up tree stumps. March 29-April 9, 1965: Removed low branches and trimmed sycamores along Maryland and Pennsylvania Avenue walks; trimmed and pruned trees in vicinity of Southeast Drive. April 10-May 7, 1965: Fed trees on Old Capitol Grounds; all trees on Capitol Grounds were sprayed at night with lime-sulfur, and approximately 7,500 gallons of mixed spray material were applied to all trees on Capitol Grounds; pruned elm trees on First Street NE.; worked on oaks in vicinity of Old House Office Building. May 10-28, 1965: Trimmed and pruned trees in vicinity of First Street SE.; trimmed trees in vicinity of Senate air shaft; cabled trees; watered newly planted trees. June 1-12, 1965: Trimmed and pruned trees in vicinity of Southeast and Southwest Drives. June 14-26, 1965: Trimmed trees in Northeast section of Old Capitol Grounds; trimmed and pruned trees in vicinity of Northeast and Southeast Drives; cleaned drains in trees, and cabled_trees. June 28-July 10, 1965: Trimmed and pruned trees Senate side, east front of the Capitol; trimmed sycamores along west front. July 8-31, 1965: Initiated summer spray program on trees. July 13-17, 1965: Trimmed trees in vicinity of Senate Office Buildings; cabled trees. July 20-August 7, 1965: Worked on trees damaged by storm; replaced broken cables on trees on Old Capitol Grounds; removed hangers from trees bordering all walks. August 9-September 4, 1965: Pruned trees on east front, House side; sprayed all boxwoods on Capitol Grounds; removed hangers from trees on west front, and cabled trees; trimmed and pruned trees along Southwest Drive. September 7-October 5, 1965: Trimmed and pruned trees in Southeast section of Capitol Grounds; trimmed and lifted lower limbs of trees in vicinity of Union Station; placed cables in ash tree on Southeast Drive; trimmed oaks in Southwest section. October 6-November 6, 1965: Trimmed oaks at First and D streets NE.; removed hangers from trees on east front; trimmed elms on New Jersey Avenue NW.; trimmed trees in Northwest section near grotto; cabled willow oaks. November 8-December 10, 1965: Trimmed sycamores in Southeast section; cabled trees along Northwest Drive, Southwest Drive, and west front; trimmed and shaped sycamores at First Street SE., and Library Drive; trimmed deadwood from sycamores overhanging Maryland Avenue. December 13-31, 1965: Worked on decorating Christmas tree in pond lawn; topped out 18-inch horse chestnut in the Southwest section. January 3-26, 1966: Topped out 35-inch ash, Independence Avenue and plaza; trimmed trees on First Street between East Capitol and Library Drive; topped out ginkgos in vicinity of California Street; removed 40-inch Paulownia from the west front, House side; worked on removing stumps from trees topped out previously in the fall. February 21-March 15, 1966: Trimmed red oaks in vicinity of Taft Memorial; worked on removing stumps remaining from dead trees; topped 24-inch Norway maple at Union Station; trimmed red oaks on D Street between First and Delaware Avenue NE. March 16-25, 1966: Started fertilizing trees on Capitol Grounds, and initiated night spraying of lime-sulfur. Approximately 4 tons of fertilizer were applied to feed the trees on the Capitol Grounds. Approximately 15,000 gallons of lime-sulfur mixed with water were sprayed on trees; 450 gallons of No. 70 oil mixed with water were used; and 30,000 gallons of arsenic and lead, DDT and Sevin mixed with water were sprayed on trees. During this period, 34 stumps have been removed at the following locations: First Street SW.: 18-inch American elm. Southeast Drive: 28-inch European Beech. Northeast Drive: 40-inch purple beech; 42-inch scarlet oak. Lot 732: 16-inch American elm; 2 30-inch silver maple; 2 25-inch elm; 26-inch locust. Northwest Drive: 26-inch catalpa. Southeast Drive: 23-inch beech. Maryland Avenue NE.: 28-inch American linden. Old House Office Building: 30-inch red oak. Independence Avenue SE.: 30-inch pin oak. Delaware Avenue and C Street NE.: 2 24-inch maple. Independence Avenue and plaza: 35-inch ash. West Front, House side: 45-inch Paulownia. Maryland Avenue Drive and East Capitol street: 30-inch tulip poplar. Northwest section near grotto: 30-inch linden; 34-inch linden; 28-inch horse chestnut. West Front near Pennsylvania Avenue walk: 40-inch sycamore. California Street NE.: 2 17-inch ginkgo; 18-inch ginkgo; 20-inch ginkgo. First Street NE.: 15-inch red oak. U.S. CAPITOL GROUNDS-SUPPLEMENT TO REPORT ON THE WORK ACCOMPLISHED BY THE CAPITOL GROUNDS FORCES, MARCH 28, 1966, THROUGH APRIL 20, 1966. NEW PLANTINGS March 29, 1966: Planted 10 Taxus med. hatfieldi, Senate parking lot, Constitution Avenue. March 30, 1966: Planted 12 Ilex cren. convexa, Old Senate Office Building, First and Constitution Avenue. April 11, 1966: Planted three Photinia serrulata and two Photinia villosa, southwest corner of Capitol Building. April 13, 1966: Planted 2 Taxodium distichum, 8 Cornus mas and 70 Quercus coccinea, old and new Grounds. April 16, 1966: Planted 2 Photinia serrulata, 10 Taxus densiformis, 24 Ilex cren. convexa, 12 Ilex crenata and 1 Taxus med. hatfieldi, Old House Office Building, corner of First and Independence Avenue. April 18, 1966: Planted 60 Prunus yedoensis on old Grounds. April 20, 1966: Planted 30 Cornus florida and 30 Cornus florida rubra on west front. TREES AROUND RAYBURN BUILDING Mr. ANDREWS. You have told us you are planting a lot of new trees. Mr. PINCUS. Yes, sir. Mr. ANDREWS. I noticed you planted some trees around the new Rayburn Building. Are they living? Mr. PINCUS. That was done by contract, sir. They are living now. The dead trees were replaced. That is part of the contractor's guarantee. Mr. ANDREWs. That they would live. Mr. PINCUS. No; the dead trees have been replaced. Some of the original trees died. Mr. CAMPIOLI. Under the guarantee for the landscape work we had the contractor replace the dead trees with new trees which are still alive as far as we know. Mr. ANDREWS. Was that the building contractor? Mr. CAMPIOLI. The landscape contractor. Mr. ANDREWS. And all of the present trees are living? Mr. CAMPIOLI. To my knowledge; yes, sir. Mr. ANDREWS. How long does your guarantee last? Mr. PINCUS. One year from the time of final acceptance. NEW POSITIONS Mr. ANDREWS. What is the salary of each of these eight new jobs? Mr. HENLOCK. Seven gardeners at $5,429 per annum and one at $5,200 per annum. Mr. ANDREWS. For just what type of work are these eight new jobs? Mr. PINCUS. These are gardener-type positions and their duties include grading, seeding of lawn areas, raking and spreading topsoil, planting, transplanting, and caring for shrubs, flowers and lawns, adding chemicals to the soil, planting seeds, seedlings and bulbs, watering lawns and plants, pruning hedges and shrubbery. Mr. ANDREWs. More than a common laborer. Mr. PINCUS. Yes, sir. Mr. ANDREWS. What is the hourly rate for these people? Are they paid on an annual basis or hourly basis? Mr. HENLOCK. An hourly basis. Mr. ROOF. Wage Board, grade 6. Mr. HENLOCK. $2.61 an hour. BREAKDOWN OF POSITIONS BY TYPE Mr. ANDREWS. I wish you would insert in the record a breakdown of these 81 jobs. You have 73 presently and you want 8 new ones. That will give you 81. Mr. HENLOCK. Yes, sir. That breakdown actually is shown on page 44 of the justification. We do have a complete breakdown there. Mr. ANDREWS. We shall insert that in the record at this point. (The page follows:) The Architect performs his duties under authority of the acts of August 15, 1876 (19 Stat. 147), March 4, 1929 (45 Stat. 1694), and July 31, 1946 (60 Stat. 718). A regular force of 81 gardeners, helpers, laborers, mechanics, and supervisory personnel is required for 1967, as follows: Twenty-four men for trimming, cultivating, weeding, planting, transplanting, spraying, pruning, grass cutting, and other gardening functions. Six men for tree surgery work. Five men on lawn irrigation systems. Seven men for care of grounds of three House Office Buildings and Capitol Power Plant. Ten men for cleaning walkways, approaches, porticoes and terraces, and assisting in heavy landscape and gardening work. Five men on sewer and concrete work. One man operating heavy equipment, such as grader, bulldozer, and tractor loader. Five men for maintenance of motor and other mechanical equipment. Twelve men on trucks, hauling and removing trash and debris from the Capitol Grounds and the buildings in the legislative group. One man for janitorial work in locker rooms and toilets. In inclement weather, the Capitol Grounds men are also used for such work as repair and sharpening of tools, repair of equipment, cleaning debris from the Capitol, and other miscellaneous cleaning work. They are also used for raking and removing leaves, and for snow removal, and assist in preparing for functions, band concerts, parades, unveiling exercises and other ceremonies in the Capitol, Flag Day exercises, inaugural ceremonies, and the like. COST DISTRIBUTION BY TYPE OF WORK Mr. HENLOCK. We also have on page 45, that you might want to include in the record, a breakdown that shows the distribution by the nature of the work done, gardening work, trash removal work, street maintenance work, supervising that we would like to insert. Mr. ANDREWs. Put that in the record. (The page follows:) Cost distribution-Capitol Grounds-Estimate 1967-$790,000 |