LEMONT The Lemont Village Board has agreed to pay Homer Tree Care Inc. to start removing some of its ash trees infected by the emerald ash borer.

On Monday, the board voted in favor of removing at least 252 ash trees in Glenys and McCarthy Point subdivisions at a cost of $205 per tree.

Public Works Director Ralph Pukula said his department is negotiating with Homer Tree Care on whether to remove more trees this year. The village has $60,000 allocated towards tree removal and replacement, with the intention of completely focusing on tree removal this year.

Mayor Brian Reaves said the village is also looking at the alternative of doing a mass cut of its infected trees and paying the cost over several years.

Reaves said the village is trying to be aggressive while still being cost effective. He estimated it would cost about $450,000 to remove all of the village's 2,000 ash trees. Replacements will cost about $300 per tree, he said.

"It's a million dollar problem we have now," he said.

Pukula said the tree removal could start in mid-July.

Reaves said the public works department should try to personally inform residents whose ash trees are being cut down.

The board also approved a bid for $211,068 to repair the Stephen Street bridge over the I&M Canal and the Old Lemont Road bridge over the Des Plaines River.

According to the meeting agenda, the work will consist of: sealing the concrete cracks in the structure decks and substructure; repairing the concrete; installing new bearing retainer angles; cleaning and painting existing bearings; placing stone riprap; replacing existing preformed and neoprene expansion joints; installing vertical clearance signs; repairing and cleaning structure drainage systems; and completing all incidental and collateral work.

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Village of Lemont approves contracts for tree removal, bridge repairs

What started as a city street improvement project has morphed into a fight over the trees that line the ABC streets neighborhood.

When ABC streets residents first heard that the city was finally repaving their cracked and warped streets, they were pleased. But the $3 million project, which is slated to be finished by the end of the year, also requires cutting down about 220 trees in the area, according to city staff.

The neighborhood had an extensive amount of sidewalk work and road work that needed to be done, said Napas Deputy Public Works Director Phil Brun. The goal is to get into an older neighborhood thats really in need of street paving and also install ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) ramps and repair failed curbs and gutters and missing links of sidewalk.

As neighbors noticed last week, the project includes cutting down trees that were planted more than 50 years ago, and that the city said are either unhealthy or are causing problems for the sidewalks.

Trees have a lifespan, just like people, Dave Perazzo, the citys parks, trees and facilities manager, said Tuesday. These trees we are talking are Arizona Ash, which have a relatively short life span about 30-40 years.

Perazzo, who said the area is home to about 600 trees in all, pointed out that older trees are at a risk to fall or become diseased. He said that workers analyzed every single tree in the area before determining which ones would need to be cut down.

But area residents were not pleased with the citys decision, taping signs to trees last week that were slated to be removed that begged city crews to not cut down the old-growth. Perazzo said the city understood the new trees wouldnt be as large, offer as much shade or be considered as pretty as the older growth ashes, but pointed out that safety was the citys main concern.

Our job is to look out for the best interest of the community, he said. We dont want to leave trees behind that could become a hazard. Weve done that in other neighborhoods and had trees fall. We dont remove trees for no reason. Safety is our reason.

Perazzo said the city will not only replace every single tree it removes, but will also plant additional trees in front of bare residents, as long as the homeowners will commit to maintaining the new trees.

We need buy-in from the property owners, he said. Some say they will be happy to water them, others say they dont want to. Were having a tree commission meeting (Wednesday) that weve invited some residents to attend.

The rest is here:
Napa says ABC streets tree removal necessary for safety

EUGENE, Ore. A tree on the University of Oregon campus thats more than 70 years-old is on the chopping block, because of construction at the Erb Memorial Union.

But a landscape architecture professor says hes not giving up his efforts to stop the removal of the age-old tree.

Professor Whitey Lueck says landscapes and buildings arent separate, they work together.

And it would be taking away a piece of history from campus.

EMU director Laurie Woodward says the tree, a London Plane tree, was considered in the new EMU design.

But there wasnt a way to work around it.

Woodward says they didnt focus on this one tree, but all of the trees that might have to come down.

But professor Lueck says the design committees process wasnt thorough enough.

I really have no choice to but to make a small stink at that point rather than have to explain to my students next year, or five years or ten years from now why I didnt stand up for that tree, said professor Lueck.

The whole staff has been, is sad to see them go. Its not a decision that anybody made lightly, said Woodward.

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Age-Old Tree to be Cut Down on UO Campus

CRISFIELD, Md.- A plan to remove trees around the Crisfield-Somerset County Airport is moving forward.

Somerset County officials recently approved a five-year capital improvement plan that will be submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration. The plan calls for the removal of trees and other obstructions along the path pilots use to land, according to Jennifer Lutz, who works for URS Corporation, a consulting firm that is working with the county.

In a statement, Lutz said, "the purpose of the project is to meet current FAA requirements outlined in 14 CFR Part 77,Objects Affecting Navigable Airspace, and FAA Advisory Circular 150/5300-13A,Airport Design." Lutz also said the proposed project is a safety maintenance project and is needed in order to protect public safety and preserve the existing published arrival and departure procedures for the runways.

Joe Lewis has lived near the airport for 69 years. Lewis supports the plan.

"If the planes come in to land and take off, you don't want no obstructions in their view," Lewis said. " So, I think it's a good idea."

Though safety is a top priority for Robert Lehman, who lives near the airport as well, he is not in favor of the obstruction removal plan.

"I don't know what it's going to prove," said Lehman, who thinks an underlying reason for removal of trees is to draw more air traffic to the airport. "They're trying to change the basic category of the airport in hopes of getting more traffic. It just will not happen."

In the statement, Lutz said the airport is undergoing an environmental assessment that falls under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to evaluate environmental impacts. Once the assessments are complete, Lutz said the airport will enter its next phase which involves negotiating easements for land acquisition.

Meanwhile, the county will seek a grant, in 2016, for parcels where signed agreements were obtained. In 2017, a grant will be sought from the FAA to cover the cost of the design phase to remove trees. In 2017, an evaluation of the runway will be conducted in Somerset County.

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FAA to Review Tree Removal Plan at Crisfield Airport

Large tree removal isc stihl
A big emergency job we were called out to.

By: mightyoak s

Continue reading here:
Large tree removal isc stihl - Video

WILLINGBORO The township has new measures in place to make sure that trees are being maintained and removed properly, and that debris is not being left curbside for long periods.

The Township Council last week approved an ordinance to amend the municipal code dealing with trees, forestry management and tree removal. The ordinance is intended to prevent the uncontrolled and excess destruction, removal and cutting of trees.

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See the article here:
Willingboro sets code to deal with tree maintenance, removal

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) The storms that rolled through Central Indiana Monday left behind damage in the metro area and thousands of folks without power into the overnight hours.

The city of Indianapolis says if a tree falls onto a city street, the city may remove it. Call the Mayors Action Center at 317-327-4622 to file a report.

If it falls on private property though, its the residents responsibility.

According to Consumer Reports:

These are guidelines only. Coverage types and amounts vary by insurer, so check with yours to be sure.

As of 6:30 a.m., Duke Energy outages were less than 100 customers.Click here for current Duke Energy power outages.

Indianapolis Power and Light crews were still working to restore power Tuesday morning. IPL said in all, 22,500 people were affected. As of 6:30 a.m., about 1,800 IPL customers were still without power.Click here for current IPL power outages.

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Originally posted here:
If a tree falls in your neighborhood, whos responsible?

WIDOW MAKER: This image taken after the storm that hit earlier this month shows the damage caused to the gum tree that blocked this Beach Haven driveway.

Sarah Argyle

TOWERING PROBLEM: Craig Newth cant understand why the council wont allow him to remove a tree that towers 25 metres above his house.

Every time the wind blows Craig Newth and his family worry what will happen to a 25 metre gum tree that towers over their house.

Is there a tree causing you grief? Email us at newstips@stuff.co.nz

The Beach Haven, Auckland, resident says he doesn't understand why the council won't allow it to be removed.

Because their property is exposed to wind, the family's nerves are frayed.

Newth says gum trees, also known as widow makers, are notorious for dropping limbs.

A council arborist, Vector worker and private arborist have all on separate occasions said the branches from the tree could injure someone and it should be removed, he says.

But when Newth approached the council they told him resource consent was needed and then declined it on more than one occasion.

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Family fear the widow maker

At the Nov. 26 meeting of the Montvale Mayor and Council, a draft ordinance to preserve borough trees in certain residential zones was presented to the governing body.

Robert Hanrahan, chairman of the borough's Tree Ordinance Committee and its Environmental Commission, presented the draft, which calls for a reduction in clear-cutting of borough trees. Exemptions include tree pruning and cutting down trees that may endanger public safety, according to the draft.

Hanrahan said in the past 10 years, other committees were formed and consisted of borough residents who were either proponents of the ordinance or had reservations about it. The idea, he said, died on a vine after budget constraints held it back from fruition. Now, with a draft ordinance in place, Hanrahan said he hopes "to maintain traction to some point of closure" on the idea.

"If we could eliminate the indiscriminate removal of trees, I would be happy with the effort," Hanrahan said.

Mid-year, Council President Leah LaMonica, who is the committee liaison, approached the council about forming a Shade Tree Committee, and advised them that a team consisting of five borough residents were putting together a draft tree ordinance. At that time, she said the goal was to get something on the books that would replenish trees that were felled.

In the draft ordinance, the committee proposes placing restrictions on the number of trees residents are allowed to cut down in a 12-month period. The draft proposes that residents in single-family residential zones R-10, R-15, and R-40 - which comprise the majority of residential zones, according to Hanrahan - would be permitted to apply for a permit, a $35 cost, to remove three, four and five trees, respectively. For each tree after that, the resident would have the option of paying $500 per tree or replacing it. Funds collected will go to costs associated with tree replacement and planting within the town, according to the proposed ordinance.

Hanrahan said the proposed tree limit schedule was based on what the committee believed to be the maximum number of trees removed from a parcel in each zone per year. This, he said, was determined given the size of the zones, R-10, being a quarter acre or 10,000 square feet in size; R-15, a third of an acre or 15,000 square feet; and R-40, roughly one acre or 40,000 square feet.

Hanrahan said the committee worked with Jeffrey Fette, who is Montvale's construction official and conversed with borough residents to conjure those statistics. Additionally, he said the draft was reviewed by Planning Board member Wolfgang Vogt, who is also environmental commission chair in the borough. The group also looked at other tree ordinances throughout the Garden State, including Oakland, Englewood, Township of River Vale and Upper Saddle River.

"[We] all felt it was a fair number that wouldn't put any undo hardship on a typical homeowner," said Hanrahan.

With the draft, Hanrahan said the committee plans to start with those three zones, as they comprise the majority of residential zones. Other entries, he said, may be added to cover other zones. While the ordinance solely pertains to tree removal from residential properties, he said most of the other commercial zones in the borough are covered by other zoning ordinances. According to the draft ordinance, removal of trees protected by the zoning ordinance, or any other state, local or federal law, is prohibited.

Continue reading here:
Draft of tree ordinance presented to Montvale Mayor and Council

Local residents not yet acquainted with the emerald ash borer bug, know this theyre already here.

The small, metallic, non-native beetle invaded the United States about 12 years ago and is on its way to eating the countrys ash tree population into extinction.

Probably all of them are going to be gone within the next few years, Minookas Public Works Superintendent Rob Tonarelli said of the villages ash trees.

The ash borer is a small green beetle that lays its eggs between the crevices of tree bark.

When the eggs hatch, ash borer larvae burrow into the tree, eating their way to the trees inner bark and phloem. By doing this, the borers essentially cut off the trees circulation, making it impossible for it to transport water and nutrients throughout its branches.

According to Tonarelli, Minooka has about 750 ash trees growing in parkways and parks throughout the village, and thats not including the numerous residential-owned trees.

Last year alone, Minooka public works removed about 100 ash trees because of EAB infestations. Tonarelli estimated the removal costs at about $30,000, but he anticipates spending another $60,000 in the coming year as the infestation seems to be spreading.

Finding and planting suitable replacement trees will only compound the mitigation costs.

Were likely going to exceed what we have budgeted this year for tree removal, Tonarelli said.

As of 2013, the U.S. Department of Agriculture detected EAB epidemics in 20 states, including Illinois, leading the Agriculture Department of to brand the bug as an extremely destructive beetle that poses an enormous threat to North Americas ash resources in the most recent USDA report on the insect.

More:
County not immune to ash borer bug