Winter Park copes with tree deaths

Dying trees and how to pay for them dominated a meeting on Sept. 10 at Winter Park City Hall. Now some of those issues may come to a close as the Commission grapples with final changes before passing a 2013 budget on Monday.

Commissioner Carolyn Cooper ruffled some feathers with discussion about spending more money to identify trees that could be in danger of falling in the coming years, as talks of the city’s aging tree canopy turned morbid.

Knight said the city has budgeted $1 million for tree maintenance. Cooper requested that up to $80,000 be taken out of the tree preservation fund to spend identifying and taking down trees that are in danger of falling.

“It takes about $1,100 to take down a 30-inch (diameter) tree,” Cooper said. “If we have 155 trees right now that have been identified… it seems irresponsible that we won’t deal with the ones that have been at least identified.”

Assistant City Manager Michelle Del Valle said that the city recently embarked upon a $50,000 program to trim dead trees, with a focus on identifying trees that needed to be removed.

“That was Phase 1 during this fiscal year,” Del Valle said. “It’ll be a combined effort with removing the dead trees.”

Mayor Ken Bradley balked at Cooper’s inference that trees were becoming a danger to pedestrians and drivers in the city.

“Are there unsafe trees in our city that we need to drive fast to get under?” Bradley asked. “Commissioner if you see unsafe trees that you feel are about to fall, then you need to call the city so we can get out and trim those trees.”

He questioned the need to spend more money than the city already is to identify and remove trees.

The city will host a public forum regarding the proposed changes to the tree ordinance on Tuesday, Oct. 9, from 6 to 7 p.m. at City Hall Commission Chambers located at 401 S. Park Ave. City staff will provide information regarding the history of the tree ordinance, the current process and will also compare the current ordinance to the proposed ordinance. The public will have an opportunity to share comments and ask questions as it relates to the proposed changes. For more information, please call 407-599-3427.

“So let’s spend more money so we know how much we need to spend,” he said. “That’s not a good idea is it?”

City Manager Randy Knight said that the issue of dying trees could be more serious than some in the city think.

“We are in an unprecedented time of trees dying,” Knight said. “This is going to be able to tell us what’s out there. We’re getting calls all the time about this.”

Del Valle said that the city is testing how it will pay contractors to remove all of the dead trees, and weighing whether the city should once again be completely involved in the tree trimming business. But the first step will be determining how extensive the issue is while cutting the trees that are the biggest danger.

“Obviously it’s not a one-year fix,” Del Valle said. “It’s probably not a five-year fix.”

Cooper moved to add $100,000 from the general fund to the budget for tree canopy trimming. That motion died without a second.

The budget passed 4-1 with Cooper dissenting. That budget will require a final vote before it officially passes, contingent upon a millage rate vote that will immediately precede it at the Sept. 24 City Commission meeting. If that vote passes, the budget will be set for the 2013 budget year.