05-03-2021 Council Work Session Packet

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WS – Item 3 WORK SESSION STAFF REPORT Work Session Item No. 3 Date: May 3, 2021 To: City Council From: Andy Nelson Re: EAB injections for boulevard trees Background The City response to emerald ash borer (EAB) includes removals of boulevard ash trees, insecticide injections that allow us to stagger removals over time, and replacement of these trees with a diverse mix of species. It will take the City about 10 years to remove and replace these trees, barring acquisition of grant funding. The City has recently entered into an agreement with Rainbow Tree Care to provide injections to prevent ash trees from becoming infested with EAB. Through this program, residents can receive a discount rate for injections if they choose to treat their privately- owned trees. There are some residents that are also interested in paying for treatments of the City-managed boulevard trees in the public right-of-way in order to preserve them and prevent them from being removed and replaced. Currently, almost all boulevard ash trees are removed by the City Parks crew, which is considerably less expensive than hiring contractors to perform the removals. Most boulevard trees are currently of a size that the Parks crew can safely remove them. As the trees increase in size, the technical complexity of removals also increases. A tree that would be well within the capabilities of the Parks crew to remove today could require a more expensive contracted removal in the future. Ash trees can live to be well over 100 years old. Even if a current homeowner agrees to treat trees every two years, there is no guarantee that the next homeowner will do the same. Meanwhile, these trees may grow beyond the capabilities of our crew and equipment to remove.