NEW BUSINESS  20.

COMMITTEE MEMORANDUM

HISTORY:

The discussion regarding the City’s maintenance of trees within the right-of-way was raised as part of a larger conversation sponsored by Commissioner Joy Malakoff: PROPOSED REVISIONS TO CHAPTER 126 OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS OF THE CITY CODE, PERTAINING TO LANDSCAPING AND MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR THE LANDSCAPING OF PRIVATE PROPERTIES AND ADDING A REQUIREMENT FOR A TREE SURVEY PRIOR TO THE ISSUANCE OF A DEMOLITION PERMIT, Item C4I, which appeared on the June 10, 2015 Commission Meeting agenda. The Item was referred to the Land Use & Development Committee for further discussion.

At the January 20, 2016 Committee meeting Commissioner Malakoff detailed the need for the City taking over the maintenance of canopy in the public rights-of-way. Public Works Director Eric Carpenter described the existing requirements for maintenance of trees in public rights-of-way. To determine the financial impact, staff was asked to provide a cost estimate for the maintenance of the trees in the ROW. Of the three scenarios evaluated, Contractor Only, In-House Only, and Hybrid, it was determined that the Hybrid option (combined contractor and in-house staff,) would best serve the City’s needs. A FY16/17 Operating Budget Enhancement Request was submitted to request the funding for the estimated Hybrid option cost of $1,488,644.00 annually. Note, swale trees along Alton Road north of 41st Street (FDOT/State road) and the Australian Pines along Pine Tree Drive (Miami-Dade County road) were not factored into this calculation. Ultimately funding was not allocated for the ROW tree maintenance, but the City provided Greenspace Management with the FTE for two (2) additional professional Tree Trimmers and a bucket truck to supplement the activities of the City’s existing internal Tree Crew, and to accommodate the additional workload associated with emergency response and special requests.

Commissioner John Aleman placed on the March 7, 2018 Commission Agenda, Item C4P, REFERRAL TO THE SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCY COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER CITY-FUNDED SWALE TREE MAINTENANCE.  At the March 14, 2018 Sustainability and Resiliency Committee meeting Item #6, DISCUSSION TO CONSIDER CITY-FUNDED SWALE TREE MAINTENANCE was heard. Greenspace Division Director Rodney Knowles spoke to the Committee about the history of the item, the scope and costs associated with the proposed maintenance, and how tree trimming efforts in the right-of-way are currently being addressed by Greenspace Management. The direction given was that the City fund a swale tree maintenance proposal and it be submitted through the FY18/19 budget process. Since Greenspace Management was allocated additional personnel and equipment in FY16/17 to assist in this effort, the estimate submitted by staff for the Hybrid Option was reduced to $1,138,644.00 ($1,488,644.00, minus the funding associated with the two FY16/17 FTE's and vehicle/equipment $350,000.00.)

ANALYSIS:
To determine routine tree maintenance costs, all of the trees and palms in the City’s ROW were included in the computation (commercial areas, major thoroughfares, entrances to the City, municipal facilities, Beachwalk, etc.,) in addition to the trees in all swales adjacent to residential properties. Every tree/palm in the ROW will be pruned on a regular cycle to professional industry standards to avert hazardous conditions, especially in preparation for hurricane season. The total number of trees (as determined by the City’s tree survey,) is approximately 19,000. Of this total around 8,400 are palms which require pruning four times per year to remove dead or hanging fronds and fruit (particularly important for liability reasons in areas frequented by pedestrians and vehicles,) and 1,900 palms that require pruning only twice per year. All other trees are small, medium, and large canopy trees that require pruning once a year to remove dead wood, crossed or damaged limbs, low hanging limbs, utility and signage obstructions, etc., as well as dead tree/palm removals. The work should be performed by or under the supervision of an ISA Certified Arborist or equivalent who is employed by a company that specializes specifically in tree maintenance, not a landscaping company. In determining the cost it is estimated that the contractor would need 3 to 5 tree trimming crews, and a tree trimming supervisor to managing the contract and crews. Each tree trimming crew would consist of 1 lead tree trimmer, 1 tree trimmer/equipment operator, 2 ground/flag men to direct vehicular and pedestrian traffic, 1 bucket truck, 1 chipper, and associated equipment.

CONCLUSION:
The following is presented to the members of the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee for discussion and further direction.