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Landscaping contractor reports water savings and upgrades; resident presses council on missing trees
Summary
ELC (landscape partner) told the Anthem board it invested about $1,000,000 in equipment, saved roughly 17 million gallons of water and is 12% under budget; a resident pressed staff about un‑replaced trees in Anthem West and proposed a remove‑and‑replace policy.
ELC, Anthem’s landscape partner, presented its annual operations update, highlighting equipment investments, irrigation upgrades and water‑use reductions.
“My name is Bill Redford. I’m the, your field operations manager,” Bill said as he outlined ELC’s work. He told the board the company has been in partnership with Anthem for six years, is 100% employee‑owned and has invested just over $1,000,000 in equipment intended to improve efficiency and crew safety. Bill said the contractor switched to electric blowers and trimmers, operates specialized equipment such as a curb‑collection unit and uses a machine called the Harper Hawk for leaf pickup and dethatching.
On water use, Bill reported ELC delivered roughly 50% under the council’s water goal last year, estimating about $60,000 in savings and “17,000,000 gallons” conserved; he said Anthem’s total water use in 2024 was about 157,000,000 gallons. He also said the contract is currently about 12% under its budget and noted planned turf overseed and seedbed work ahead of the cooler season.
ELC discussed infrastructure projects — including poly‑to‑PVC irrigation upgrades (PVC life ~50 years) completed at several entries — and ongoing work such as culvert mapping and Liberty Bell Park enhancements. Mike Rasmussen, ELC’s branch manager, said tree replacement after removals depends on irrigation availability: without irrigation, replacements are often deferred; established desert‑style trees can survive without supplemental irrigation.
During public comment, resident Brian said he has documented multiple missing trees along 43rd Avenue and urged the council to adopt an explicit remove‑and‑replace policy, an easier resident reporting tool and public tracking of reported issues. He also offered to serve as an aesthetics advocate. Staff acknowledged an existing general reporting form and agreed to consider promoting and improving it.
The board took the presentation for information; no separate policy vote on tree replacement was held.
