City advances tree inventory, bridge inspections and explores AI for pavement ratings

City parks staff told the board they are completing a targeted tree inventory, addressing noncompliant bridge railings and testing new technology to rate pavement condition. Julie Perdieri, superintendent of horticulture (title reported in the packet), is leading an inventory of street trees and park trees in active public areas; staff said a full inventory of all parkland was too costly but they expect completion later this year. “That will help just guide us as we, continue to evolve in our street tree programs and our Arbor program,” Zach said. Staff identified one bridge railing that did not meet current code and ordered replacement materials from Suburban Steel with installation planned in the coming months. City engineers also completed systemwide bridge inspections; staff said the inspections showed no significant structural issues but noted some bridges may need more frequent checks depending on findings. Parks staff said they are demoing systems that use a phone-mounted imagery tool to rate pavement and trail surfaces using machine learning; the imagery would feed GIS and asset-management tools to prioritize capital maintenance. Zach said a final decision on whether to adopt the AI pavement-rating system could come within a month following demos. The parks horticulture crews took responsibility this year for most right-of-way mowing previously overseen by the streets division and now manage contractor relationships for specific corridors. In facilities maintenance, a pool pump failure at Hunters Ridge Pool was replaced quickly; staff said a pump was shipped and installed within a day, preventing downtime. Staff also reported a new horticulture foreman and staffing adjustments to support tree work and maintenance across park sites. The board did not take formal action on these operational items; staff said work will continue and follow-up reports will come as projects progress.