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Staff urge tree-care ordinance review, present streets preservation plan placeholder and parks CIP items including Riverwood Hills and Oronoco trails
Summary
Staff proposed renaming "tree removal" to "tree care," recommended a tree-right-of-way ordinance review and discussed cost-sharing options; Stantech will present a streets preservation plan in September and park CIP items include Riverwood Hills paving and trail work at Oronoco Park.
Participants shifted to street, tree and parks priorities during the workshop. Kane (Presenter) described a placeholder for a preservation plan from Stantech and said Joe (Staff member) will present a year-by-year roadmap at the September council meeting.
On tree policy, staff recommended renaming "tree removal" accounts to "tree care" and flagged many resident requests for work on trees near roadways. "We need an entire ordinance review," one participant said when discussing unclear right-of-way responsibilities; staff discussed options including a defined city program to remove hazard trees in right-of-way, a split-cost program with homeowners, or targeted annual maintenance in priority neighborhoods.
Parks committee members requested additional funds for benches, tables and amenities and discussed trail improvements. Participants identified a $136,000 line in the packet tied to Riverwood Hills paving that will be moved to the CIP, and said trail projects at Oronoco Park will be handled through CIP funding rather than the department operating budget. One participant reported a private contractor is scheduled to finish fencing along the lake by the end of October.
On equipment, the parks/shop discussion noted the city joined Sourcewell purchasing, which substantially lowers mower prices: staff said a municipal-source price for a mower is about $17,000 after the Sourcewell discount versus roughly $24,000 at retail, making replacement more affordable under a multi-year rotation plan.
Next steps: staff will bring the Stantech preservation plan and any ordinance-review recommendations to the September packet and work with the parks committee on CIP coding to ensure trail work is listed in the capital budget.
