The mayor's office has plans to trim the dead wood out of Provo - and some living limbs as well.
No, it's not Mayor George Stewart's new policy to cut the city's work force. All of the cutting will be done in the trees.Tom Martin, city chief administrative officer, unveiled an ambitious tree-management program this week that could initially cost Provo $1.1 million to prune the 5,600 trees termed critical. That's a cost of about $200 a tree. Martin said those trees must be trimmed to reduce power outages.
Tree growth interferes with power lines, and limbs break and fall into the lines, cutting off electricity to neighborhoods. Scraggly trees account for half of all the unscheduled outages in Provo.
Pruning trees is one of at least three major city-improvement projects Stewart intends to pursue. Although he hasn't pitched plans on the other two, the mayor said Tuesday he's considering asking the council for a $5 million to $6 million street-repair bond and at least $1 million for fixing crumbling sidewalks.
The tree program, scheduled to begin March 1, depends on whether the City Council appropriates the money for it. Councilman Greg Hudnall called the $1.1 million price tag "frightening."
Martin said he has found potential funding in the Energy Department, which has one tree-trimming crew. He said he doesn't want to put the cost on residents.
Provo fell behind in maintaining trees because it axed trimming crews in the Energy and Parks departments during the early 1980s to save money. Councilwoman Shari Holweg, a former Energy Department employee, said workers warned elected officials that Provo would pay for the lack of maintenance in five to seven years. "And the prophecy has come true," she said.
Pruning 5,600 trees in the next 12 months is a short-term solution.
An estimated 18,000 to 24,000 trees grow near or under power lines. Martin said a long-term program would require annual budget allocations.
The Energy Department crew can't keep up with trimming demands. "Shortcuts to pruning may occur as crews hurry to trim as many trees as possible," Martin said.
To remedy that, the mayor's office proposes to hire more workers or contract for tree trimming with a private company. The city will evaluate the costs of both before deciding which way to go.
The long-range plan also calls for trees replacement, conservation and beautification.