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City outlines summer vegetation program for 340+ ditches amid staffing shortfall
Summary
City staff described a vegetation-control plan using contracted spraying on 64 high-profile ditches this summer to offset reduced staffing and temporary labor, aiming to cut regrowth roughly in half in sprayed areas.
City staff presented the administration’s vegetation-control plan for the summer, citing a staffing shortfall and a new contract to spray selected ditches and right-of-way areas.
Trey Flowers, the city staff presenter for the vegetation program, told the council the city maintains "340 plus ditches" and that crews are reduced: "we have exactly 24 people and 2 mowers to maintain all of the ditches. We, are down 24 people because we're no longer utilizing the, trustee labor and, we don't have our temporary employee program this summer running for budgetary reasons." To compensate, the city contracted Keyless Vegetation Management to spray about 64 of the largest and most visible ditches and major right-of-way corridors twice this summer (May and August). Flowers said the spray is intended as "vegetation management" not a kill-all application, adding the goal is to promote low-growing grasses while reducing fast-growing weeds such as Johnson grass.
Council members asked how the city could restore cutting capacity. Councilmember Pruden asked whether inmate (trustee) labor could return; Flowers said discussions were ongoing with legal counsel and that trustee labor would require legal clearance. Budget constraints were identified as the reason temporary employees were not hired this season. Flowers said the spraying program was selected in part because the contractor holds franchise relationships with utility companies and the city, enabling them access to some easements.
On expected effectiveness, Flowers said the spraying should "cut the growth almost in half in the places that we're spraying," and that after 18 months of the program the seed bed would be diminished enough to help offset labor shortages. He described the city's operational goal as still being to cut ditches three times a year when possible.
Why it matters: Ditch and right-of-way maintenance affects stormwater flow and neighborhood flooding risk. Council members pressed for ways to restore seasonal temporary staff because the temporary-worker program has historically served as a recruitment pipeline for permanent positions.
Ending: Council members offered to help assess problem areas and signaled support for exploring options (temporary hires, trustee labor, or further contracting) to meet the city's ditch-maintenance goals this summer.
