The Woodside Town Council on Oct. 14 approved a resolution authorizing the town manager to execute a professional services agreement with the Woodside Fire Protection District to formalize the town's chipper program and add an expanded fuel-mitigation service. The council voted unanimously (Council members Brown, Gold and Wall and Mayor Brian Dankowski voting yes; Council member Auberich absent).

Town Manager Jason Ledbetter said the chipper program amount of $47,843 has already been budgeted and the additional fuel-mitigation portion of the agreement would not exceed $89,900.66 for the current fiscal year. He told the council the work covered by the new agreement includes tree limbing to remove ladder fuels, habitat-sensitive vegetation management, species-specific treatments to reduce sudden oak death, thinning and selective removal. "The project objectives are to reduce hazardous fuels to prevent wildfire ignition and spread, implement ecologically responsible fuel treatments that support native habitat conservation," Ledbetter said.

The agreement covers up to 1,920 labor hours performed by a six-person crew, described in staff materials as 40 crew-days of work. Ledbetter said town staff and the fire district will jointly prioritize town-owned properties and rights-of-way, and the fire marshal will advise on evacuation routes and other high priorities. "We would consistently work with the fire marshal on an annual basis to determine what the best use of this funding was and where we should focus the funding," Ledbetter said.

Woodside Fire Protection District Chief Tom Kasheri accepted the council's proclamation for Fire Prevention Month earlier in the meeting and described the district's role in outreach, inspections and code enforcement. On the fuel-mitigation agreement, Kasheri said the district will collaborate with the town on planning and implementation. "We'll have to work, collaborate, with the town, with Caltrans and Woodside Fire to go ahead and remove the right-of-way vegetation," Kasheri said.

Council members asked whether the program could address vegetation along state-owned rights-of-way (Caltrans property) after recent fires. Ledbetter and the chief said Caltrans cooperation would be required before district crews could work on state right-of-way, and staff noted discussion of possible maintenance agreements with Caltrans in the future. "If we were to get Caltrans' agreeability, we would be able to work within this contract with the Woodside Fire Protection District to allow that work to get done," Ledbetter said. A council member also asked whether a waiver or exhibit could be attached to the agreement to expedite any Caltrans approvals; town staff said they would try.

The resolution passed on a roll-call vote. The agreement formalizes the chipper program and creates a funded fuel-mitigation service the town will use to carry out vegetation treatments on town property and prioritized rights-of-way in consultation with the fire district.