Council approves $6.39 million amendment for tree pruning, removal contracts amid public questions

The Modesto City Council voted 7-0 on June 3 to approve amendments increasing two existing contracts for tree pruning, removal and stump grinding, raising the combined five-year authorization to not exceed $6,389,350.

The motion to approve the first amendments was made by Council member Alvarez and seconded by Council member Chris Rickey; the roll call recorded ayes from Council members Rickey, Bavaro, Williams, Wright, Escudia Brayton, Alvarez and Mayor Sue Zwolens.

Staff described the contract amendment as an administrative adjustment to accommodate additional Measure H funding approved in the FY24-25 budget cycle. Bill Sandoval (presenting staff) told the council the contracts were originally approved by council in October 2023 and that the amendment covers continued trimming, stump grinding and removal work funded for the current fiscal year.

Bill Sandoval told the council the city's most recent inventory shows about 90,000 street trees and that, on a 5- to 7-year trimming cycle, the city needs to trim roughly 12,000 to 13,000 trees annually. He said the city previously had over 2,000 stumps in the ground and has reduced that count to under 1,000; as part of that work, the city uses stump grinding rather than chemical treatments. "The recent inventory shows we have about 90,000 street trees," Sandoval said. "At one point we had over 2,000 stumps in the ground. So I think we were down to under 1,000 stumps now." (presentation comments)

Members of the public asked questions before the vote. One resident asked how many stumps the added funds would cover and whether chemical alternatives or fewer-costly methods had been considered. Another public commenter raised concerns about one contractor's online presence and use of a PO box rather than a physical business address; the speaker said he had experienced missed appointments with that vendor in the past. Staff replied that both companies were selected through a competitive bidding process and that Rumble Tree listed a Modesto address in its bid packet. The city manager confirmed the bidding requirements include a physical address on bid documents.

The council packet and staff presentation itemized the amendment amounts: the proposed amendment increases Green Tech Services LLC (Oroville) by $300,000 to a new total of $3,475,000 and increases Rumble Tree Incorporated (Modesto) by $1,594,350 to a new total of $2,914,350, producing a combined not-to-exceed total for both agreements of $6,389,350 over five years. Council adopted the amendment and authorized the city manager or designee to execute the amendments.

Staff said the work is funded by Measure H allocations for urban forestry and that additional sites and work (water and wastewater sites) were being added to the agreement as capital and maintenance projects expanded. The public record includes requests from multiple speakers for the city to provide additional details about contractor bidding, actual stump counts covered by the amended amounts, and whether local-hire or preference policies apply; staff said the procurement process is governed by the city's bid rules and that Rumble Tree is a Modesto-based company according to the bid packet.

The council approved the amendment on a 7-0 roll call. Following the vote, council members and staff reiterated that the city would continue to track urban forestry workload and report back through appropriate channels as work progresses.