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Isanti council urges staff to pursue state EAB relief grant as tree mortality looms
Summary
City staff told the council a state relief grant program for emerald ash borer is open and recommended applying; council members discussed prioritizing boulevard trees, noted an estimated 450–600 ash trees in city limits and directed staff to begin grant work and bring options back to the council.
Isanti City council members agreed at a budget work session that staff should pursue a newly opened state relief grant for emerald ash borer (EAB) response after staff flagged the program as available.
City staff described a multi-pronged approach: prioritize the most severe boulevard trees for removal, evaluate treatment versus removal costs, and use external grant-writing help where appropriate. Staff estimates roughly 450–600 ash trees within city limits could be affected; one speaker cited a report suggesting about 80% of those trees are infected, and members said that many urban ash trees are unlikely to be saved long-term.
Councilors and staff discussed whether the city should fund removals for trees located in the boulevard (right-of-way) and noted the state program's limited funding. Staff recommended applying immediately given the grant is open and said they had provided the council with a local public-works resource (contact info for a grant-experienced public-works director) to assist the application.
The council agreed to let staff pursue grant applications and to return with more detailed treatment-versus-removal cost estimates and a prioritization framework to inform any budget amendments.
Next steps: staff will begin application work for the state relief grant and return cost comparisons and prioritization recommendations to council for potential inclusion in the 2026 budget.
