05-06-2025 PK Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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Davey Resource Group, Inc. Tree Inventory Analysis & Maintenance Strategy Young Tree Training Cycle ● The City of Orono should institute a three-year young tree training cycle beginning after the completion of all recommended higher priority work. With 957 young trees with condition ratings of Excellent, Good, and Fair at the time of the inventory, approximately 319 need to be assessed and pruned each year during the three-year cycle. In future years, the number of trees in the young tree training cycle will depend on the growth rates of young trees in the city and the number of new plantings. ● Young tree training is recommended to begin one to two years after planting and continue every three years until the tree can no longer be safely pruned from the ground with a pole pruner and pruning shears. o At the time of planting, new trees should be minimally pruned to remove broken or crossing branches. ● Not every tree in the young tree training cycle will need to be pruned each cycle – thus, the actual cost to maintain a young tree pruning cycle will likely be lower than projected in the budget table provided at the end of this section (Table 7). Routine Inspection and Inventory Updates ● All public trees should be regularly inspected and attended to as needed. Inspections can be particularly effective and necessary after major storms which may cause damage to trees or increase the risk posed by trees. o Level 1 walk-by or drive-by assessments can be a cost- effective method of inspection for public trees after storm events and can help identify trees which need further detailed inspection. ● When trees require additional or new work, they should be added to the maintenance schedule. The budget should also be updated to reflect the additional work. Utilize asset management software such as TreeKeeper® to make updates, edits, and keep a log of work records. ● Level 2 risk assessments and inventory updates should also be completed on a routine basis, ideally every 5 to 10 years, to identify defects that are not easily observed during Level 1 assessments and to update tree inventory information. o To keep costs regular, 1/5 of public trees should be re- inventoried each year. With a total of around 3,862 public trees in the current inventory not recommended for removal, approximately 773 would need to be updated each year during a five-year inventory update cycle. Tree Planting and Stump Removal ● Stump removal should be included in tree removal contracts. Quality assurance and control checks of the contractor’s work should be conducted to ensure that stumps are being removed fully and efficiently as part of the tree removal work. ● Stump removal should be done prior to targeted planting of any area to open locations for new tree planting. Planting in a location where a stump was recently removed should be avoided, if possible. Decomposing roots can cause air pockets, nutrient depletion, and space constraints that can impact the establishment of newly planted trees. 44