Columbus, Georgia

Referrals From Mayor and Council-07/30/2002



Subject 16th Avenue



Description Have the staff to check all of the trees on City property on 16th

Avenue.



Received From



Assigned To Rachel Buice, Richard McKee, Rufus Riggs



Response I have "windshield" surveyed the area requested only from 13th Street

to 20th Street. As you know, 16th Avenue continues up to 49th Street.



In the area from 13th Street to 20th Street on 16th Avenue there are 60 plus

trees. There are approximately 32 that are larger and appear on the onset to

warrant pruning and/or removal.



To properly evaluate each of these trees can take up to 30 minutes per tree.

This would be a maximum of 16 hours of uninterrupted time. I would anticipate

this process to vary per tree for a more realistic average figure of 20 minutes

per tree. This would total approximately 11 hours of uninterrupted time. As

explained during last weeks pre-council work session, we are approximately two

years behind and are short a number of bucket trucks.



Once we receive a call or referral, our process is to respond and make an

assessment. If we do not determine that a tree is life or health threatening,

we will put the request into the system and handle it in the order received.

This will ensure fairness and equal treatment to all citizens.



My quick "windshield" survey of 16th Avenue did produce 4 trees that would, in

my opinion, warrant quicker attention. They are all adjacent to 1601 16th

Avenue. This is the address where a tree fell on a house during the last

storm. A matter of fact, the homeowner, Ann Marshall, has just requested that

those trees be reevaluated.



It is my suggestion that we evaluate these trees on 16th Avenue that have been

requested by the homeowner and are the ones that appears on the onset to

warrant the quickest action. As we move towards developing an established and

recognized Urban Forestry Program, preventative maintenance and routine

assessments will become the norm rather that the exception.