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Parks, recreation and forestry present needs: tree removals, contractors and staffing gaps
Summary
Department leaders told the budget committee that capital funds will pay tree removals and market repairs, but staffing shortages — especially tree trimmers and utility workers — force reliance on contractors and limit rotational maintenance of vacant lots, park acres and street trees.
Director (name in record) and commissioners for Parks, Recreation and Forestry presented the department’s FY26 budget to the committee on May 12, emphasizing capital funds for market and pool repairs while highlighting persistent staffing and recruitment problems in forestry and field crews. "We have a 10 city parks, approximately 3,200 park acres to manage," the director said, and noted the department’s combined FY26 budget across parks, forestry, recreation, Bright Side and Soulard Market totals roughly $46.5 million when special funds are included.
Why it matters: parks, street trees, vacant lot maintenance and recreation centers are high‑visibility municipal services. Staffing and contractor choices directly affect public safety (hazardous trees), neighborhood appearance, and service response times for debris and lot maintenance.
Forestry Commissioner Alan Jankowski said the division faces recruiting challenges for tree trimmers, a hazardous job that is difficult to staff at current pay. He outlined a mix of capital and professional‑services funding: approximately $500,000 annually has been used for ash‑tree removals, a separate capital line has funded hazardous tree removals, and the department received an $8 million federal grant for climate‑justice area tree removals and plantings. "Roughly about 88,000 street trees and then probably another 80 some thousand, park trees," Jankowski said when asked about tree inventories; he said the removals/trim list runs into thousands (roughly 3,000 removals and about 7,000 trims in the current queue).
The forestry office requested additional heavy‑equipment operators, construction equipment operators and utility workers to run an in‑house debris program and to operate recently procured equipment; the FY26 proposal includes new equipment (front loaders, dump and roll‑off trucks, skid steers) but not the requested staff to operate it. Commissioner Kim Haegley (Parks) asked to transfer funds internally to restore two permanent utility workers removed during budget negotiations and suggested converting per‑performance funds to staff salaries to keep core services covered.
Recreation Commissioner Joaquina Calian described pool and center repairs (boiler and mechanical upgrades, floor and locker room work) and said four recreation centers will host summer camp and expanded evening programming intended to provide safe activities for youth. Mary Lou Green, Operation Bright Side commissioner, described graffiti eradication and neighborhood beautification work and asked that a $60,000 CDA (federal) allocation for graffiti removal remain accessible to Bright Side to retain staff and per‑performance crews.
Committee members asked for detailed lists of removals, contractor capacity, and noted potential amendments to move existing departmental funds to staff priority positions. No final appropriation changes were voted at the meeting.
