More than 400 tons of debris fell from trees in September, so Salina is looking to prune some trees

Charles Rankin, Salina Journal
·2 min read
City of Salina crews work and clean up a tree that came down in a median on South Ninth Street after an extreme wind event in December 2021.
City of Salina crews work and clean up a tree that came down in a median on South Ninth Street after an extreme wind event in December 2021.

After several weather events in the past few years have taken down limbs and branches from trees in Salina, the city is looking at using a maintenance program to prevent such destruction in the future.

On Monday, the Salina City Commission approved city staff to submit a letter of interest to the Kansas Division of Emergency Management (KDEM) for a grant of more than $165,000 for a city-wide right-of-way and parks tree pruning mitigation program.

Salina Public Works Director Jim Teutsch said this project would allow the city to proactively maintain the city's tree canopy.

Teutsch gave examples of three weather events in the past 15 years that resulted in tons of debris in the city from trees, including an ice storm in 2007 with more than 16,000 tons of debris and a windstorm in December 2021 that caused tree damage to many houses, structures, cars and infrastructure within the city.

"Most recently, we had a windstorm (on Sept. 17), that resulted in another 400 to 415 tons of limb debris," Teutsch said.

In addition to limbs coming down in weather, Teutsch said there are a number of vehicles, in private and public use, that are relatively tall, including semi trucks, delivery trucks, the new 16-foot tall automated trash collection fleet the city uses and some of the Salina Fire Department's firefighting apparatuses, that hit low hanging branches.

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"(These) can frequently make contact with the tree canopy," Teutsch said. "Not only can you do damage to the vehicles themselves, but that can also weaken the tree."

Maintaining instead of just responding

Right now, the city responds to downed trees and limbs on a case-by-case basis after the fact, but this program will be more proactive.

"We are looking to do something more than just simply a response, but have an active program throughout the year to maintain the tree canopy," Teutsch said.

Teutsch said if the grant is given, the city will purchase a new lift truck, also known as a cherry picker, a wood chipper and chip box and equipment and tools designed for arborists to prune.

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The commission said the need for this kind of program is evident, and there was a general consensus among the three commissioners present that it may be worth looking at developing the program even if the city doesn't get the KDEM grant.

"I think you've done such a good job on justifying the need to apply for the grant that you've justified the idea that we can't, not do this (program)," said Commissioner Trent Davis.

After a 3-0 vote, the city will submit the letter of interest to KDEM by the Oct. 14 deadline.

This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Salina seeking state funding for tree trimming program