Good Thunder delays seal coating as council seeks estimates to treat or remove ash trees

Good Thunder council members spent substantial time reviewing the town's ash‑tree inventory and the costs and logistics of either treating or removing trees threatened by emerald ash borer. With competing street and sewer needs, the council also voted to postpone seal‑coating work until next year.

Council discussion cited a local inventory of 39 ash trees (seven of which lie in county responsibility and five at Thunder Valley Park). Treatment options discussed included chemical trunk injections; one presenter said per‑tree costs can run roughly $10 per diameter inch, which for a typical two‑foot (24‑inch circumference) small tree can be about $250 for a single treatment, while removal costs vary widely — examples included $400 per tree and an $8,500 quote for 13 trees. Staff noted treatment requires periodic re‑applications and that effectiveness declines once trees are substantially infected.

Members asked staff to obtain formal written estimates for both treating select trees (to preserve high‑value shade trees) and for removal and replacement (including stump grinding and replacement planting costs). Councilors also emphasized the safety and logistical considerations (power lines, park trees requiring bucket trucks or climbers) and asked for options to minimize long‑term replacement costs.

Separately, the council reviewed a seal‑coating bid packet showing a price range near $95,000–$98,000 and — because sewer repairs and other higher‑priority street work may require excavations after seal coating — moved to defer seal coating until early next year and readdress it in February when project sequencing is clearer.

What happens next: staff will solicit formal bids/estimates for tree treatment and removal, quantify replacement costs, and bring back a recommendation and cost comparison. The seal‑coating decision is deferred to the next planning cycle.