Vines growing on utility poles are unpopular with the city electric department and the City Council, and residents who have planted vines near the city will be written and told to eliminate the hazard.

If they fail to remove the vines off the poles, then the city will step in and do the job.No one suggested taking an ax to the vines, but council members agreed the plants had to go.

The vines are a growing hazard, said Lee Fowkes, city power department superintendent.

It's somehow becoming more and more popular to plant vines around the poles, said Fowkes. "It started with just one homeowner."

Now there are a dozen or so poles that have vines growing on them. Some people have even placed chicken wire around the base of the pole to encourage the growth, said Fowkes.

"I went to another home this week, and there was chicken wire around the pole and new plants were growing," Fowkes said, adding that more vines are sprouting around the city and are being carefully nurtured.

There are problems with people planting vines on poles, said Fowkes. "They are not good for the poles," he said. Vines shorten the life of a wooden utility pole by several years.

The wooden poles last about 50 years when conditions are good and cost approximately $300 to $400 to replace.

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Also, poles need to be climbed in an emergency, and fighting one's way through chicken wire and flourishing vines is difficult, Fowkes said.

A greater problem is that the vines grow into nooks and cracks and have to be removed by hand, said Fowkes. "They can get in the transformers and blow the transformers."

Council members considered the liability the city might have if power were to flow through the vines. Power conducted by vines could be dangerous to those on the ground near the pole, especially those watering the vines.

"The poles are on city property," said Don Eyre, city attorney. Since the power department can't have the vines growing on the poles, it does have the right to spray weed killer on the vines.

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