ACTION REQUESTED:
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Communication from the City Manager and the Director of Public Works with a Request to APPROVE a POLICY for ASH TREE REMOVAL on City Property and Right of Ways.
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BACKGROUND: The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is an invasive boring beetle that feeds on the inner living tissues of ash trees. The EAB is responsible for the destruction of millions of ash trees in the Midwest. This epidemic is being compared to the Dutch Elm disease of the past. The EAB has recently been discovered in the City of Peoria. Within a few years, virtually all ash trees in the City that are not treated will die. As ash trees die, they become very brittle and dangerous.
Currently, less than half of the trees on the City's right-of-way have been surveyed, with 643 trees being identified as ash trees. Davey Resource Group is currently working the second phase of its survey, and it is estimated that the City could have over 1200 ash trees on the right-of-way. Also, the completed survey will likely identify 100-200 additional non-ash trees that need to be removed.
Public Works has developed an Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan consisting of tree removal, trunk injection treatments and education. Any type of ash tree treatment is for the life of the tree, including trunk injection treatments. Therefore, treatments will only be used on select trees above a condition rating of good or above. It is important that the management plan begin soon on ash trees that were identified in the phase one survey. Our plan is to begin ash tree removals in late February or early March, and the process could take four to five years.
Treating ash trees with Tree-age, the most common tree injection treatment, will cost about $6.00 per one inch-diameter of the tree for each application, and it is recommended to treat the trees every two years.
A current summary of ash trees on the right-of-way and their condition is shown in the table below:
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