ACTION REQUESTED:
Title
Communication from the City Manager and the Director of Public Works with a Request to Approve PURCHASES from FORREST KEELING NURSERY, in the Amount of $50,000.00, GREEN VIEW NURSERY, in the Amount of $15,000.00, and D. A. HOERR & SONS, INC., in the Amount of $15,000.00, to Purchase Trees to Plant on City Property and Rights of Way. [Citywide]
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BACKGROUND:
The City of Peoria has been removing well over 150 dead or hazardous trees from the rights of way for many years without a program to replace them. As a result, the City has a need for hundreds of new trees on the right of way, in medians and boulevards, and City property.
Forrest Keeling Nursery is a wholesale supplier of seedlings and small trees located in Missouri about 30 miles north of St. Louis. They supply seedlings and small trees at wholesale to many nurseries in the Midwest. They have patented their RPM (root production method) which gives their trees superior plant survivability and accelerated growth rate. They sell trees in 3 gallon, 10 gallon, and 15 gallon containers. The 15 gallon container trees are about 1.5" in diameter and from 5 to 6 feet tall and currently sell for $60.00. This compares favorably with the typical 2" diameter tree about 8 feet tall sold in nurseries for $130.00 and more. Their smaller 3 gallon container trees sell for under $15.00. City Staff would like to experiment with different sizes and possibly grow some trees in-house.
Approval of purchases from Green View Nursery and D. A. Hoerr would allow the City flexibility to obtain trees that may not be carried by Forrest Keeling. It would also give the City a local supplier if it is desirable to get a certain type of tree quickly that might not be in stock.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: Funds are available in 2014 account 101-3124-542-36.33.
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERNS: We will be able to quickly and efficiently have trees available for planting. Trees are a valuable resource f...
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