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Middleton commission recommends city adopt 8,800‑tree inventory and urban forestry plan; consultant urges hire
Summary
The Parks, Recreation and Forestry Commission voted unanimously to recommend the Middleton Urban Forestry Management Plan and updated tree inventory to the Common Council after consultant Tali Patel presented findings including 8,800 trees inventoried and 399 trees recommended for safety removal; the plan calls for a five‑year pruning cycle and recommends adding staff to meet demand.
The Parks, Recreation and Forestry Commission unanimously recommended that the Common Council adopt the Middleton Urban Forestry Management Plan and updated tree inventory, following a two‑year consultant review that inventoried roughly 8,800 trees across the city.
Tali Patel, a forester and owner of Boots and Forestry Consulting, presented the plan and inventory. Patel said the inventory found about 7,800 trees in street rights‑of‑way and roughly 930 park trees, and that she recommended the removal of 399 trees "due to safety reasons." Patel described the community’s species diversity and size distribution as strengths and said maintenance numbers were below the typical range for comparable inventories.
"You have 8,800 trees, roughly 1,200 planting sites and 72 sump sites," Patel said, adding that the recommended removals and prunes indicate the city has been maintaining trees well. She recommended a five‑year pruning rotation for trees over 7 inches in diameter and said maintenance should focus first on safety removals and then on establishing routine pruning and planting schedules.
Staff and commissioners focused questions on how the plan would affect staffing and budgets. Staff said the city currently spends about $196,000 a year on contracted forestry work and relies on two seasonal 1,200‑hour positions plus existing staff who split time across conservancy and forestry duties. Commissioners and Patel said the plan’s workload would be easier to meet with an additional dedicated forestry hire.
"It’s time to consider hiring someone to help Tony," Patel said, noting projected increases in manpower needs across 2027–2031 before costs settle to routine maintenance levels. Commissioners discussed whether more work should be handled in‑house or remain contracted; several noted equipment costs and seasonal staffing limitations.
The commission moved, seconded and voted to recommend adoption. The motion passed without recorded opposition. Staff said the consultant or another staff member will present the plan to the Common Council at its next meeting for final action.
Next steps: The recommendation goes to the Common Council for formal adoption and budget review; staff indicated they will include the forestry staffing request in upcoming 2027 budget materials.
