08-12-1996 SPECIAL CC - Laserfiche WebLink

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far', ':" REQUEST FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION Agenda Section STAFF REPORT Report Number: l0 -I BOG fi iS>,; Report Date: 8/8/96 • �. COUNCIL MEETING DATE "-A, 0 .',W;v; AUGUST 12. 1996 o{,''eas.Parotts�`�Q Item Description: Discussion Regarding the Status of Tree Damage from the August 6 Storm. Administrator's Review/Recommendation: u'4k) -No Comments to supplement this report -Comments attached. X Explanation/Summary(attach supplement sheets as necessary) Summary: As the Council is now aware, isolated pockets of the community suffered extensive tree damage from a wind storm the evening of August 6th. Naturally the City received several phone calls as to the City's intentions for a cleanup as has been done from time to time in the past. Mike Ulrich and I surveyed the damage the afternoon of August 7 and found much of the damage done to trees on private property. The public works crew did spend much of the morning that day removing debris from the streets and boulevards, but I did not direct crews to remove any debris that appeared to come from the property owners' property. 40 Because of the interest in assisting with the situation and to.respond to the number of calls, I ultimately was le to contact all Council members and the Mayor. It does appear that the majority is interested in assisting some manner. In reviewing this strictly as a public policy matter, my recommendation is to consider the ramifications of using public funds to assist in cleaning private property. At this point, I have considered authorizing that use of public funds outside my responsibilities, and therefore will defer to the Council. While I cannot recommend this assistance be given by the City, although it certainly is understandable to want to help these property owners. Therefore, options the Council may want to consider include: 1) Total assistance ranging from clearing yards to disposing 2) Removing debris the property owner brings to the boulevard 3) Arranging for debris to be removed at property owners' expense Any option may include chipping, but I would discourage consideration of that due to time and expense. If arrangements were to be made, it would have to be for next week when such services could be contracted. I have also included Forester Wriskey's report of the damage and would suggest limiting cleanup to the area identified as the worst to prevent an all encompassing tree and brush removal event. In order to better facilitate future situations like this one, I would also like to ask the Council to give consideration to a written policy delineating responsibilities of City Hall so that we can be more prepared for the next time. I still cannot recommend using public funds for assisting private property owners, however, if we are to do this type of work in special situations, it will be easier and more understandable if staff's parameters are laid out than in trying to response to multiple citizen inquiries to staff, management and Council. In this situation, we failed to give a clear understanding of the City's role in the situation which has flikto people assuming the City will do something, and possibly just the opposite after someone pays to have it debris removed. New Brighton's policy is attached to Wriskey's report. If the Council is interested in this, I will attempt to draft something for a future work session.