No ash trees slated for removal this summer
The Jefferson street crew is making headway on taking down diseased trees but they haven’t yet addressed concerns about a possible infestation of emerald ash borers.
According to public works superintendent Dave Morlan, the crew is about halfway through a list of 38 trees for removal, and an outside fire has taken down 15 trees. All the trees being removed this summer are diseased or dying.
The crew took down a large tree in the 200 block of N. Elm St Monday morning. Morlan said it had dropped two large limbs onto the roadway in recent weeks. “It was time for the tree to go,” he said.
In May, Iowa Department of Natural Resources forester Jason Walker reported on an inventory of street trees (between the street and the sidewalk). He identified 118 trees that should be removed.
His inventory showed there are 253 ash trees as street trees. None of them showed any signs of an emerald ash borer infestation, he said, but he recommended the city be proactive in removing the trees and replacing them with other species in advance of EAB reaching Jefferson.
Morlan said he would like to see an additional $25,000 to $40,000 in the next fiscal year budget to begin removal of ash trees.
Morlan reminded residents that the city will chip branches stacked curbside the last week of each month on the regular garbage pickup schedule. Call the city office at 515-386-3111 for more information.
