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Resident urges City to budget tree trimming after power outages; public works says outage cause under investigation
Summary
A Lake Forest Park resident urged the council to work with Seattle City Light and budget funds for aggressive tree trimming after recent outages. City staff said the outage was under investigation and emphasized coordination with the utility; residents asked the council to prioritize vegetation management to reduce outage risk.
A Lake Forest Park resident told the City Council that repeated power outages and overgrown trees are harming residents and businesses and asked the city to budget for more proactive tree‑and‑power‑line management.
"It's egregious," resident Bob Bratt said of trees growing into power lines. He told council members he had experienced multiple outages, including a recent multi‑day outage, and said the city should work with Seattle City Light to fund more trimming or undergrounding where feasible. "I'd look for a budget and appropriation of dollars that this city and community starts to appropriate trimming back not just canopy, but trimming back wasteful trees that have been allowed to grow in and around power," Bratt said.
Why it matters: Bratt said outages affect thousands of residents and local businesses and force some residents to run gas‑powered backup generators. He noted Kenmore has invested in undergrounding along parts of SR 522 and urged Lake Forest Park to consider similar measures in priority corridors.
City response and status: city staff and newly introduced Public Works Director Rebecca Dickinson acknowledged the issue. Dickinson, who joined the city three weeks earlier, told the council she is reviewing operations and said staff were actively involved during the recent outage. Administrator Hill said the cause of the day's outage remained under investigation earlier in the evening and that Seattle City Light's reporting systems showed inconsistent restoration estimates.
Clarifications and next steps: council members asked staff to gather more information and coordinate with Seattle City Light. Administrator Hill said staff would follow up with the utility and present options, which could include a dedicated trimming budget or targeted undergrounding assessments, for future budget consideration.
Ending: The comments were made during public comment and prompted staff to commit to follow‑up; no council action was taken at the meeting.
