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Carson City staff details urban-tree inventory, safety removals and public reporting process
Summary
Public Works operations manager Justin Tierney told the Carson City Regional Transportation Commission the city has 6,802 documented public trees, a small dedicated crew, and uses TreeKeeper software to track benefits, condition and work; commissioners directed residents to report concerns via Carson Connect.
Justin Tierney, operations manager for Carson City Public Works, told the Regional Transportation Commission on Sept. 24 that the city’s urban-forest program documents 6,802 city-owned trees and relies on a small, highly trained crew to maintain them.
“TreeKeeper is a powerful tool,” Tierney said, explaining the city uses the software to attach photos, plan work and calculate ecosystem benefits over 20 years. He said four staff members hold ISA arborist certifications and one staffer is certified in tree-risk assessment; at present the right-of-way crew consists of two full-time staff caring for city trees in the public right-of-way.
Tierney showed photographs of recent removals and described cases where apparently healthy trees were internally decayed or hollowed. He said staff inspect trees and remove those that pose a safety hazard. “When we find these trees…we take care of it pretty quickly,” he said.
Commissioners asked about the split between park trees and right-of-way trees and about reporting. Tierney said parks have a separate inventory and estimated the right-of-way inventory may be roughly 2,000–3,000 trees. He directed residents to submit photos and location details through Carson Connect so crews can prioritize inspections and repairs.
The presentation and the operations report highlighted recent activity: staff documented 195 trees serviced in the reporting period, six removals in August, 31 pruning operations in September and two removals in September. Chair Bagwell praised the work-order report for communicating workload and responsiveness to the public.
The commission did not take formal action on this item; the presentation was informational. The commission moved on to subsequent agenda items following questions and thanks to the crew.
