Solid Waste District approves fall tree plantings and emerald ash borer treatments

The Vanderburgh County Solid Waste Management District on a voice vote approved contracts to buy and plant fall trees and to treat existing ash trees to protect them from the emerald ash borer beetle.

District arborist Sean Dickerson said the board authorized a contract with Bur Oak Tree Services for smaller “tube” trees for fall planting at a total cost of about $29,000 and provided maps showing species and locations. “On your desk are the maps, that Sean has made showing where all the trees will be planted, the species, the locations,” a staff presenter said during the meeting.

Dickerson described the planting plan as mostly shade trees with about a dozen species, including oaks and linden, plus some evergreens used where screening is needed — for example near the Scales And Measures facility and the former Canoe Evansville site adjacent to McDonald's Golf Course. A board member noted the plantings aim to create canopy and perimeter shade at athletic fields.

The board also approved an $18,721 agreement with TruGreen Commercial to treat ash trees that the arborist said have shown stress after roughly two and a half years since the last treatment. “They recommend treating the trees every 2 years with the injectable chemicals that we're using,” Sean Dickerson said. Dickerson told the board some trees already show signs of stress and that, if not treated this fall, “it may be too late.”

Both contracts were approved by voice vote with no recorded opposition. Board members were shown a legend on the planting maps that lists species and locations; Dickerson said he brought a tree list for staff to distribute.

The contracts and maps will be executed by staff so planting and treatment can proceed this fall.