The Brookings City Council had encouraged public comment on an arborist report concerning the condition of trees at Azalea Park and the recommended removal of nine trees. The Monday, September 11th deadline has passed for written comments to be submitted for review prior to the City Council workshop on September 18th.
The workshop will be held in the Council Chambers beginning at 7:00 p.m. and certified arborist Brian French will attend to provide background.
The 146-page document submitted by Mr. French, available for review here, http://or-brookings.civicplus.com/Archive.aspx?ADID=554 inventories and provides condition ratings for 62 trees located in Azalea Park.
Plans to remove as many as 60 trees were placed on hold in May after a number of citizens expressed concern. French recommends the removal of nine trees and that another six be further evaluated by climbing and taking core samples. He also recommends that a number of other trees receive substantial pruning and close monitoring and/or could become candidates for removal.
“Staff will be obtaining cost estimates for the removal and pruning work and will have this information available at the workshop,” said City Manager Gary Milliman.
French is founder of the Portland based tree care company Arboriculture International. He has been a climbing certified arborist since 2002 and is an International Society of Arboriculture qualified tree risk assessor. Serving as coordinator for the Oregon Champion Tree Registry and Portland Heritage Tree Program Chair, his work focuses primarily on the preservation of significant, old trees and associated flora and fauna. He served as the Municipal Arborist in Beaverton and has performed extensive volunteer work for organizations like the Audubon Society of Portland.
No decisions will be made at the Monday, September 18th workshop. “This is an information exchange opportunity,” Mayor Pieper said.