03-01-2018 Parks & Rec Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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STAFF REPORT TO: Parks & Recreation Commission FROM: Bill Dircks, Public Works Director DATE: February 22, 2018 RE: Thunder Bay/Westwinds Park Trail Tree Clearing Xcel Energy has a series of high voltage transmission lines that run through Little Canada. These lines run directly over the Thunder Bay/Westwinds Park and Trail area. Xcel Energy has easement along the entire stretch of the lines and has ownership of some property below the lines. The City owns much of the property below the lines. The easements for the lines extend into the abutting private properties on both sides of the trail. In the past, Xcel has had a tree contractor come through every few years and trim any trees that were a potential threat to the lines. They generally stayed off of the private properties and left smaller trees alone. They did this despite having clear guidelines saying that they could take all trees and, in some cases, any vegetation directly below the power lines and in their easement. The representative from Wright Tree Service, the tree contractor used by Xcel Energy, informed staff that a few years ago there was a large storm out on the east coast and some trees downed a transmission line which caused a large-scale power outage. Since that incident the Federal Government has imposed strict guidelines on all electric companies regarding vegetation in transmission line corridors. It is now auditing these corridors to make sure they are being properly maintained. Wright Tree Service mobilized into the Thunder Bay Trail area in early January and started a large-scale tree removal project. They worked on the south side of the trail first and have now moved to the north side. There have been large impacts to private properties and some very nice trees have been taken down. A couple of weeks ago it was decided that they would remove all vegetation directly below the transmission lines and that work has now begun as well. The work has benefitted the City in that all of the scrub trees and bushes have been removed from the area including a large amount of buckthorn. Unfortunately, the area has also been left looking quite barren and will likely look worse when the snow melts in the spring. Wright Tree Service will continue tree and vegetation removals along the corridor this winter and will return in the spring and summer to treat/remove the stumps left behind so nothing grows back in. It is my understanding that the area will be ready for some sort of seeding at the start of the 2019 growing season. That leaves us with a bare trail area for one year but also gives us time to properly plan the future look of the area. You may remember at the January Parks & Recreation Commission meeting there was an agenda item discussing a pollinator program under the transmission lines near Edgerton Street. Staff believes that