Operation Cloverleaf

BY CINDY GRAHL

The cloverleaf at the intersection of I-75 and Ohio Route 41 in Troy, OH, is not your run-of-the-mill mish-mosh of highway ramps. Thanks to a group of eight leading lawn, landscape and tree companies, it is now seen as a Gateway to the City, the result of Operation Cloverleaf, a public/private partnership that joins the efforts of the Ohio Department of Transportation, the City of Troy and its citizens, and eight companies that work together and donate their time and professional know-how.
The effort started in June, 2003, when Ted Mercer, of the Mercer Group and a former city councilman, sent a letter to a dozen local lawn and landscape company owners. He asked them to donate their time and talents to maintain and enhance the lawn, trees, shrubs and landscape beds of the 18-acre interchange (the size of more than 13 football fields). The Ohio Department of Transportation had widened it in 2002, but the state plan for maintenance was minimal. Mercer’s plan was that the interested companies could give back to the community and keep the gateway area looking good, at no cost to taxpayers beyond the purchase of materials such as fertilizer and mulch.
Eight companies agreed, contributing their expertise, fuel and equipment: All-Pro Landscaping and Ponds (Jason Purdy), Anderson’s Tree and Turf Tech (Tim Anderson), Evergreen Turf & Landscape (Joe Duncan), GreenTech Lawn and Irrigation (Larry Smith), the Mercer Group, Miami Valley Turf and Landscape Co., Quality Lawn, Landscape and Fence, Inc. (John Ryman), and Shields Lawn Tamers (Jay Shields), and Tree Care Inc. (Eric Davis). “At first, ODOT was a little upset with the idea, but they have since then come on board,” says Mercer.
GreenTech Lawn and Irrigation’s Larry Smith notes that “at first I thought we might have a problem with ODOT, with a lot of red tape involved, But they have been very user-friendly, and very helpful. Especially when we can take some of the burden of maintenance off of them.” There are ODOT rules to go by, he adds, mostly safety related, as in wearing vests, where equipment can be placed, and so on.

Who does what
The work is apportioned among the eight companies, with four responsible for mowing and maintaining the lawns of the four quadrants, and the other four specializing in tasks such as tree and shrub pruning and weed control along the sound walls, guard rails and berms. Mercer estimates that this requires 16 or so hours of work per week, with the companies coordinating the timing so that the space presents a uniform appearance.
Joe Duncan’s Evergreen Turf & Landscape is responsible for the northwest quadrant, like the other companies, a service seen as a way of giving back to his community. He says he loves hearing the comments, even in his hometown of Tipp City, from those who say, “Thank you for being a part of that. It looks so nice.”
“It’s a high visibility area that everyone in town drives by several times a week,” says Quality Lawn’s John Ryman. “I get Christmas cards from customers that thank me for my part in it.”
Duncan says he enjoys driving by the interchange himself, looking for problems and getting a sense of pride in the overall look, and even getting a little competitive spirit going with the other quadrant holders.
“Troy is a unique town,” says Duncan. “This is where the lawn care industry started (through Chemlawn), and that is the first thing I tell all my trainees. The history of lawn care starts here, so they can take pride in what they do.”
“I believe in Troy,” adds Smith. “Giving back like we all do is part of what makes Troy Troy. When I am working on our quadrant, I hear such positive comments, and it is great public relations. We do get recognition for what we do from the larger community, and that perception helps us in getting business. But when we work together with our competitors, we create an association of like-minded professionals that helps the business environment here.”
Ryman adds that when people see the work of a professional lawn service, they see how having access to that kind of expertise can add greatly to the beauty of a site.

Cloverleaf and strawberries
Once a year, the eight lawn and landscape firms cooperate on Cloverleaf Day on such tasks as mulching (40 cu. yd. are needed) and adding new features, be they 5,000 red
Appledorn tulips or 45 red Knockout roses (the local team’s colors are scarlet and gray). Ryman, whose firm company specializes in the planning and maintenance of the landscape beds, says contributions also allowed the
addition of Limelight hydrangeas last year, and the team is exploring the possibility of other long-blooming perennials this year.
ODOT provides traffic control and message boards, and the city touts Operation Cloverleaf on signage (only signs that recognize the overall team effort are allowed), and a local restaurant provides lunch. Adding to the color on the site are the strawberries stenciled there each June for the city’s Strawberry Festival, now in its 32nd year. The paint, stencil, equipment and labor are all donated.
ODOT had planted trees onto the site, and with some new ones added the total is now 215. A problem with emerald ash borers was taken care of, and damaged trees replaced. Other tasks are filling in and reseeding tire ruts, hydroseeding and new plantings.
Mercer has tabulated what the annual cost of services would total: some $51,833 each year, or a total of in-kind donations to the city of about $414,634 in the first eight years of the
program. Broken down by category, a year’s contribution includes some $28,367 in mowing, $6,600 in tree spraying, $5.617 in fertilizing, $3,150 in landscape weeding, $2.450 in mulching, $2,400 in shrubbery pruning, $1,800 in
vegetation control, and $1,500 in tree fertilizing.
Citizens support the effort with contributions made through the Troy Foundation, and these contributions are used for enhancements like new flower beds. Operation Cloverleaf is now recognized as the longest standing volunteer effort to help with highway maintenance in the state. The lawn and landscape team was awarded the Community Service Award from the Troy Chamber of Commerce, and it was also named the grand marshals of the Strawberry Festival Parade, making a
float for the parade as well.
Mercer credits the success of the project to the cooperation of the eight company management teams and their labor forces, support from the City of Troy through the Parks Department and City Beautification Committee, the approval and support of ODOT, and donations from the businesses and citizens of the community.
And other communities are interested. Mercer has spoken to other groups, in and out Ohio, on the project’s success, most notably at the Tree City USA conference held in Troy last year. Nearby Piqua, which has a friendly competition for bragging right going with Troy that is typified by a high school football rivalry, is looking at a similar venture, with the city doing the work, and West Chester near Cincinnati is also exploring such a a gateway effort. Says Mercer, “I am tickled to death by this.” BXM