Prospect to recruit new consulting arborist after long-time contractor retires; spring canopy postponed
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Summary
Prospect officials said the city's consulting arborist, Andrea, has retired and they will post a part-time consulting position with ISA certification and tree-risk qualifications; the city agreed to delay this spring's canopy program until a consultant is in place.
Prospect officials opened a search this week for a new consulting arborist after the retirement of the city's longtime contractor, Andrea. Meeting participants said the role will be a part-time consulting appointment responsible for regular reviews of public and private street trees, on-site responses to safety concerns, advising on plantings in parks and roadways, coordinating with nurseries and planting teams, and attending forestation board meetings.
The board outlined qualifications it will require for applicants, including current International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) certification and a Tree Risk Assessment Qualification. Speaker 3 (meeting facilitator) said the group will emphasize those credentials and asked members to help refine a scope-of-service document to share with candidates.
Participants discussed how the previous arrangement was paid and how to set expectations for applicants. Speaker 6 noted that Andrea's pay history was lower in earlier years — roughly $8,800 in 2020 — and rose to about $11,500 in the most recent year; others said the city budget has been in an $11,000–$12,000 range. "She got a monthly fee," Speaker 6 said, and attendees agreed that a monthly retainer is a reasonable structure for a part-time consultant.
To help applicants understand the part-time nature of the role, Speaker 5 proposed a posting that lists a starting amount of "$1,000 a month" so candidates would not assume a full-time salary. "Why don't we say that, you know, it's 1000 dollars a month?" Speaker 5 asked. Attendees cautioned that market rates vary widely — speakers cited quick survey figures ranging from about $100 to $500 per hour for professional services — and recommended the board test interest at the posted rate.
Members also discussed potential conflicts of interest if a consultant were commercially tied to local vendors or utilities. Speaker 7 suggested contacting Anchorage, which had used Andrea, to ask whether that city has hired a replacement and to seek candidate leads.
Because the city lacks an arborist on staff right now, the group agreed not to pursue the planned spring canopy program. "Without an arborist involved, I don't think we should pursue it this spring and that we'll have somebody in place for a meaningful canopy program in the fall," Speaker 3 said. The group asked Speaker 3 to finalize a recruitment posting, share it with the ISA list and the names obtained from Jack Baggett, and return with candidates and a timeline.
Next steps: finalize and distribute the consulting-arborist scope of services, advertise the part-time position, collect applicants, and aim to run a canopy program in the fall once a consultant is hired.
