Paul Feiner

GreenburghTownSupervisor

The recent tree  tragedy on the Saw Mill River Parkwayhighlights the need for the state, county and local governments to be more aggressive re: examining trees that are in danger of falling. It’s impossible for any government to guarantee that no tree will fall down  and it’s probably impossible for any government to inspect every tree within ones borders. However, government can be proactive- we can take proactive actions to reduce the risks. The Town of Greenburghhas appropriated funds in our budget for the removal of hazardous trees. And, we recently sent out a Request for Proposals for consulting services within unincorporated Greenburgh. The Town contains over 130 linear miles of roadway and public transportation corridors and over 400 acres of parkland. 19 square miles comprise the unincorporated area of Greenburgh.

 Please note over 20 companies received the Triage Tree Assessment RFP and only one submitted a proposal.  We were very specific and did not want fly by night companies responding.

 The Town of Greenburghthis spring, plans to retain professional services to compliment the existing work force who presently exam trees located in town parkland and along transportation corridors in the unincorporated areas of the Town of Greenburgh.  The consultant is to provide 60 days(480 hours) of inspection services that is to include:

*      Identify from visual observation potentially hazardous trees located in the Town of Greenburgh and within the land managed by the town.

¨      Conduct additional examinations of individual trees as deemed appropriate.

¨      Document the condition of each tree examined.

¨      Provide a Latitude and Longitude location for each tree requiring remedial work.

¨      Provide a durable tag affixed to each tree requiring work.

¨      Provide a written report at the termination of the fieldwork identifying the specific trees by number and condition and providing an index of severity of observed conditions.

¨      Provide a database of field data to the Town of Greenburgh at the termination of fieldwork.

¨      Provide a file of point data identifying each tree in a format compatible with AutoCAD Land Development Desktop software for incorporation within the Town of Greenburgh GIS.

The latitude and longitude will be collected via the Global Positioning System.  This will be utilized in collecting data in the field and processed for reports.

Note no tree survey or evaluation can answer all questions.  Trees are complex organisms living in complex environments.  Efforts by the consultant and town will be made to locate and identify trees within the designated areas that pose a recognizable threat.  Trees examined will be those that exceed 12 inches in diameter as measured at 4.5 feet above grade and that have visible external symptoms warranting additional investigation at the time of initial examination.