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214104' .� i ^ rte°' RESOLUTIONS �.�.� 4 12IG�tlAdy'TO F�ITY CLERK CITY OF S C u oil File No. 214104 =By Frank L. CIL NOS 21410 Loss- 4 OFFICE OF THE Resolved By the Council of the City of Saint Paul upon due consideration f�. COU CI RESOLUTIO of the report ,and recommendations of x/ 6 3 the Commissioner of Parks, Recreation LICa1'D V' l6 v and Public Buildings, on, the 'premis nL PRESENTEDa BY that there has arisen and does no COMMISSI:)NE exist dd a su en and unexpected emer- genet' y reason of the existence of Dutch Elm Disease presently affecting a - r,•unber of elm trees in the City of 'Writ Paul and calculated to spread destructive effect throughout the 03 Paul- viiless immediate -r -Y- • . _ , t merit^ • abe tr ',cea to r_erf•at��.� me: %e (.. ,a..A ert nv RESOLVED BY the Council of the'City of Saint PauV uyVon due consideration of the report and recommendations of the Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Public Buildings, on the premises, that there has arisen and doesnow exist a sudden and unexpected emergency by reason of the existence of Dutch Elm Disease presently affecting a number of elm trees in the City of Saint Paul and calculated to spread with destructive effect throughout the City of Saint Paul unless immediate and effective measures be taken to correct and arrest the samer tiaat the same constitutes an urgent and necessitous situation and condition in the nature of a sudden and unexpected emergency wherein the funds of the City of Saint Paul appropriated and available therefor have become and remain inadequate properly to protect the public interests; that supplemental,: to all funds of the saidCCity available therefor it has become and remains necessary for the meeting of said sudden and unexpected emergency that said City borrov-=d make available the sum of not to exceed $90,962.40 for the payment of said City's costs and expenses necessarily to be incurred in properly protecting the public interests in the City of St. Paul through control and eradicatinn of the Dutch Elm Disease within said City and that the Mayor and City Comptroller hereby are authorized, pursuant to Section 206 of the City (Charter, in behalf of the City, to borrow temporarily said Sum of not to exceed $90,962.40 necessary, together with all other funds available therefor, properly to meet such emergency and protect the public interests therein, and to make, execute and deliver to the party or parties making such temporary loan, a promissory note of the City therefor in the principal_ amount of such temporary loan and not to exceed the sum of $90,962.40, and bearing interest thereon at not to exceed six per cent per annum until paid and payable within one (1) year from and after the date of such temporary loan; RESOLVED FURTHER, That said sum of not to exceed $90,962.40 (Ninety Thousand Nine Hundred Sixty -two Dollars and forty cents) upog such authorized borrowing of the same, shall be deposited to the credit of the Department of Parks and Recreation and Public Buildings emergency fund, and that such borrowed sum of not to exceed $90,962.40, and any COUNCILMEN Adopted by the Council 19— Yeas Nays Dalglish Holland Approved 19— Loss Tn Favor Mortinson Peterson Mayor Rosen Against Mr. President, Vavoulis 10M 8-82 � �3AA44 L TO K 214104 1GII�iA CITY CLERK - � � � •, ' ' CITY OF ST. PAUL COUNCIL OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK FILE NO. COUNCIL RESOLUTION - GENERAL FORM PRESENTED BY COMMISSIONER DATE I/ asap additional funds provided and available therefor hereby are appropriated therefor and made chargeable with said City's necessary costs and expense ,of meeting said emergency. Approves Subject of $27,000, !Approved and Countersigned; lg-_'�C �Co�mptro i6er �� COUNCILMEN Yeas Nays Dalglish Holland Loss Mortinson Peterson Rosen Mr. President, Vavoulis Toni 6.82 In Favor V Against JUL 25 W Adopted by the Council 19- JUL 2 5 1963 -CITY OF SAINT PAU t Capital of Minnesota h' RTMENT O EATLOl?J �'AND- ! N K' COMMI July 24, 1963 Honorable Mayor Vavoulis and Members of City Council Comptroller Joseph Mitchell LIC BUILDINGS Gentlemen: Re: Necessity for emergency appropriation for Dutch Elm disease Experts on Dutch Elm disease agree that removal of all dead wood,or true sanitation, is the number one preventative measure to control the spread of the disease, which is transmitted by an elm beetle that must have dead wood as a host for favorable environment to reproduce itself. Immediate emergency action to prevent the spread of Dutch Elm disease would be put into operation by an inspection team made up of two men and a truck. Their job would be to visually inspect the trees for wilted leaves and other symptoms of the elm disease. They would gather wood samples for culture at the Bureau of Plant Industry, State Department of Agriculture. This crew can operate only during the months of May, June, July and August. Because of the short time left this year, we must operate four units, to isolate as many sites of the disease as possible. Total cost of four units for one month is $6,278.80. This type of inspection is an absolute necessity inasmuch as the State Division of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, will discontinue inspection for St. Paul and Minneapolis, and early detection will make control possible. This phase will most certainly have to be continued for at least the summer of 1964. f St. Paul forester, Alfred Sterk, estimates two crews, each made up of a truck and driver, two tree trimmers and one groundsman, could remove all dead branches and wood from our boulevard trees in one year. Or, as the disease appears to be spreading, with a crash program using four crews it is hoped this phase could be completed or nearly completed in the five months left in 1963 at a cost of $54, 683. 60. _a Mayor and City Council Comptroller 7/24/63 -z- Another phase of sanitation would be the immediate removal of an estimated 150 existing dead elm trees, at an estimated cost of $15, 000. The next phase of control, "tree spraying, " is difficult to estimate, and would be done only in infected areas where outbreak of the disease occurs. Mr. Sterk believes an amount of $15, 000, based on a cost of $3. 00 per tree, would take care of anything except an outbreak of epidemic proportions. The total emergency appropriation would be $90, 962. 40. There is no doubt that the inspection phase will have to be conducted next year, as well as a cleanup operation to finish the sanitation phase. However, after 1964 it is hoped the disease will be contained and that a slight acceleration of our existing tree trimming program will enable our forestry division to keep St. Paul's boulevard trees more healthy and beautiful than in their present state. Sincerely, Frank L. Loss Commissioner of Parks and Recreation and Public Buildings � •.Iii: -� l�- ��' "`..�'`� A kl-ftal Honorable Mayor Vavoulis and Members of City Council Comptroller Joseph Mitchell Gentlemen: Re: Necessity for emergency appropriation for Dutch Elm disease Experts on Dutch Elm disease agree that removal of all dead wood,or true sanitation, is the number one preventative measure to control the spread of the disease, which is transmitted by an elm beetle that must have dead wood as a host for favorable environment to reproduce itself. Immediate emergency action to prevent the spread of Dutch Elm disease would be put into operation by an inspection team made up of two men and a truck. Their job would be to visually inspect the trees for wilted leaves and other symptoms of the elm disease. They would gather wood samples for culture at the Bureau of Plant Industry, State Department of Agriculture. This crew can operate only during the months of May, June, July and August. Because of the short time left this year, we must operate four units, to isolate as many sites of the disease as possible. Total cost of four units for one month is $6,278.80. This type of inspection is an absolute necessity inasmuch as the State Division of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, will discontinue inspection for St. Paul and Minneapolis, and early detection will make control possible. This phase will most certainly have to be continued for at least the summer of 1964. St. Paul forester, Alfred Sterk, estimates two crews, each made up of a truck and driver, two tree trimmers and one groundsman, could remove all dead branches and wood from our boulevard trees in one year. Or, as the disease appears to be spreading, with a crash program using four crews it is hoped this phase could be completed or nearly completed in the five months left in 1963 at a cost of $54, 683. 60. "�.""" - .....� � `T`�' - .'..r:.n..w. :au• - — - - - -- w-- -- -- s .� �L� -s•� _- �_ -fir- -- �- �F`"pd+�•.r a•; A:K :MC ;'a r _2- • Mayor and City Council Comptroller 7/24/63 Another phase of sanitation would be the immediate removal of an estimated 150 existing dead elm trees, at an estimated cost of $15, 000. The next phase of control, "tree spraying, " is difficult to estimate, and would be done only in infected areas where outbreak of the disease occurs. Mr. Sterk believes an amount of $15, 000, based on a cost of $3. 00 per tree, would take care of anything except an outbreak of epidemic proportions. The total emergency appropriation would be $90, 962. 40. There is no doubt that the inspection phase will have to be conducted next year, as well as a cleanup operation to finish the sanitation phase. However, after 1964 it is hoped the disease will be contained and that a slight acceleration of our existing tree trimming program will - enable our forestry division to keep St. Paul's boulevard trees more healthy and beautiful than in their present state. Sincerely, Frank L. Loss Commissioner of Parks and Recreation and Public Buildings - EXPERIENCE OF OTHER CITIES IN COMBATTING DUTCH ELM DISEASE Kansas City, Missouri The following information is contained in a letter from an architectural firm in Kansas City, and is quoted from information given by Herbert W. Brackney, Jr., the city's Park Department landscape architect, in charge of the program: "The following counts of infected and dead trees were made: Summer 1958 - 1,900 Summer 1959 - 3,600 Summer 1960 - 8, 000 Summer 1961 - 9,500 "The first tree death due to Dutch elm disease was found in 1957, and in the summer of 1958 a report was prepared for the Park Deparmmt declaring a crisis and asking for $1, 000, 000 immediately to meet it in order to save the city's 100, 000 elms. The city responded by giving the responsibility to the Park Department from the Department of Public Works and increasing the budget from $132, 000 to $182, 000 a year for 1958, 1959 and 1960. This _. eved to be so inadequate that the Park Department again asked for help to meet the ever increasing problem. "In November 1960 ...... the people voted to grant the city authorit7 for a special assessment by benefit districts to provide funds for the tree program. Authority was also granted to allow the city to take dead and diseased trees from private property. The city was divided into 20 districts, and the emergency program was started in March 1961. The legal council ruled that the property owners could not be billed until the work had been com- pleted, and contracts could not be made without funds being available; so $550, 000 was borrowed from the City's revolving fund. ".... By the end of 1961 this $550, 000 will be exhausted. This season, in addition to 3, 500 trees removed under the regular $182, 000 budget, 8,.500 trees were removed, 10, 000 stumps were taken out, 5, 000 trees were pruned, and 25, 000 trees were sprayed. ".... The situation is so critical because the Forestry Department under ` a Department of Public Works had for many years done practically no trimming and spraying, and the street trees were filled with dead wood and provided ideal conditions for the spread of the disease. In striking con- trast, the Park Department had' an active tree care program and has had to remove very few trees. "..... The effect of the wholesale removal of trees here, most of which are from 15 to 30 inches in diameter, is terrible; and I hope that this can be avoided in St. Paul. Our tree cover is about 90 to 95% elm; and in some cases, three- fourths of the trees in a block are removed. " -1- Experience of other cities in combatting Dutch elm disease - continued Detroit, Michigan Quoting from letter of Hare and Hare, Architects, Kansas City, to Mr. Louis Hill, Jr.: "Detroit has been fighting Dutch elm disease since 1950 and has managed to control it. Their dead tree removal for all causes is less than 1 016. How- ever, they do have an annual appropriation of $1, 800, 000, which is about $3. 00 per tree. In 1958 they were trimming about 60, 000 trees per year. " Hinsdale, Illinois From L. M. Carlman, Village Manager: "In general, we feel that over the long haul we may lose most, if not all, of our elms. A control pro- gram does slow the attrition rate. Experience indicates this can be con- trolled to about 2% per year. This allows a tree removal and reforestation effort to proceed at a reasonable rate, at a reasonable cost, and without the complete, sudden denuding of the elm population. Municipalities which have been unable to carry out an effective program have witnessed the complete loss of their elm population in a short period of time - from 5 to 10 years. " Greenwich, Conn. Excerpt from Reader's Digest in an article condensed from "American Forests" magazine: In 1945, Greenwich, Connecticut, one of the first American communities to be invaded by the fungus, was threatened with loss of most of its 6000 elms. The wild elms growing in swamps and woodlands couldn't be saved, -.but for little more than a dollar a year per tree the destruction of the city's valued elms could be reduced to a minimum. . . . . by removing all dead elm wood and spraying. "It costs the town roughly $75 to remove a diseased tree, " Joe Dietrich, the toWhIs Superintendent of Parks, stated. "That money could be used to protect the same elm for more than 50 years. We'd have a living tree, not a dead stump. " ... Money was promptly appropriated and local radio station and newspaper gave periodic bulletins about progress of the fight, etc. Neighborhood groups pooled their dollars for coordinated campaigns on privately* owned elms. ...... In the last ten years the annual loss of elms in Greenwich has dropped from 186 to little more than 30, and Dutch elm disease control is now just "routine maintenance" there. Greenfield, Mass. ..... Has nearly one elm for each inhabitant, has kept the rate of afflicted trees to a negligible two- tentls of one per cent a year. The whole town is alerted to the threat and tre�.warden receives about 1400 phone calls .p annually from citizens reporting susp Acious elms. (From American Forests, July 1957) Buffalo, N. Y. To finance a control program, Buffalo, N. Y. , floated "tree bonds, " in the same way they finance other municipal improvement programs. -2- Experience of other cities in combatting Dutch elm disease - continued Brookline, Mass. ". . . . While neighboring communities show double and triple the loss of previous years, the percentage of elms lost is no worse than that of maples or other shade trees. 'If we were to let our elms go because of neglect, it would cost our taxpayers well over a million dollars for removal alone, ' stated Daniel farren, Superintendent of Parks, 'to say nothing of the decline in real estate values, loss of civic beauty beyond price. When you save elms, you save dollars.' " (From American Forests.,) Bexley, Ohio (suburb of Columbus) "Boulevards and park areas are almost completely denuded of elms, only long rows of great decapitated trunks remaining. The village has already spent nearly $100, 000 for removal plus more than $25, 000 for planting sap- lings. " Urbana and Champaign, Illinois ....... Have spent some $200, 000 in the last five years to remove trees stricken by the fungus. "Inertia and penny - pinching can sacrifice our elms- - and invite an economic problem perhaps a hundred times the cost of control measures, " says Dr. Howard C. Miller, the Dutch elm expert at the State University College of Forestry, Syracuse, N. Y. Freeport, Illinois Voters approved an "insurance policy" (several years ago) on their elms: A five -mill tax on each $100 assessed valuation - -for control measures before the disease strikes. Sycamore, Illinois The local Chamber of Commerce acted as a clearinghouse for homeowners who wanted their trees protected by spraying. . . . Now the city is ad- ministering the control program. Wheaton, Illinois The city was divided into 29 "tree protection districts" and the elms in each were put under the surveillance of one of the 29 cooperating civic organizations. Greenbrier Hills subdivision of Kirkwood, Mo. "Garden club members plastered every diseased tree with giant crosses of yellow paint. When land- owners saw the 250 marked elms, they awakened to the threat and started doing something about removal. " Amherst and Easthampton, Mass. These two towns, only ten miles apart -- Amherst continued to protect its elms; Easthampton made a good effort, then neglected the problem for two years. While Amherst's rate of diseased trees decreased to under one per cent, Easthampton within two years saw its loss jump from no trees to 11 per cent of the elm population. So instead of spending just $1650 a year for control, Easthampton had to increase its outlay to $11, 750. 00. -3- By STANLEY BUCKLES rey, estimates the loss at 28,000 $250,000 a year for tree purposes. 'men are now working on trees Morning Star Staff Writer elms. A property owner with a home and the yearly expense is $250,. Rockford's most tragic blunder The most inexperienced observ- assessed at ;10,000, would have 000, a utility spokesman said. — failure to save the city's 47,000 er has only to look at Rockford paid ;5 a year maximum to keep elms — today is obvious to every streets to answer the next ques- the elm tree killer under control. Damage Lines citizen. tion: How is tree removal keep- Now costs- loom higher and the Utility crews are concerned only An estimated 15,000 elms will ing up with the loss? The obvious ultimate result will be denuded with trees that might damage be dead by the end of 1961. Anoth- conclusion: Not at all. streets. their power lines. But they have er 10,000 may die next year. Of the 15,000 elms that Grosch found that 92 per cent of these !!Money is lacking to cut down figures are dead, the city re-J AIIOt Less Funds are on public land. the dead trees. Money, too, is moved about 2,600 during 1958, In the face of this, Rockford's In their service area covering lacking to reforest the barren '59, and '60. City Council each year allots less Rockford, Loves Park, and Winne• streets. This year, another 1,000 dead and less for the lost cause: ;88,• bago County, utility dews topped Since Dutch elm disease was elms will come out. That's a to- 000 financed the forestry division 12,546 dead elms through May of first discovered in Rockford in tal of 3,600 removed, with 11,400 in 1957, ;86,100 the next year. thus year, expect that number to 1954, it has spread into every yet to go. And that doesn't ac- grow to 5,000 before the end of part of the city leaving a memor. count for losses yet to come, ;62,200 the next, ;60,700 the next. 1961. ial to civic shortsightedness in the Probably another 10,000 neat year Finiated only the council al. Next ear's g y y propriated only #22,100. That al• y expected load: Be- (form of stumps, cropped tree alone, ready has been spent to retain a t'� 8,000 and 0,000 elms to be trunks, leaves withered on trees Since trees vary in size a n d topped. Most of the tall sh= which still stand, endange ' Q life thickness, the cost of removal foreman and eight workers. At 1n b � that are left await the day when ;60 a tree, these men could take and property. must be reduced to an averag@ down a total of 368 elms this the proper govermaental unit can and Sven there, officials in Rock - remove them. Too Late, No Money ford's Public Works Department year! P They are be' kept the city Earl Elliot, Rockford Park Dis- Halt the disease. Experts say offer a variety of figures. But the � ty trict superintendent, is still hope„ ,it's too late and besides there most frequent one is $60 a tree. paw on a deficit operation that body has discovered how to fi. that spaying lime in public no pa isn't money. In other words, starting next parks will reduce losses. But the Remove the &ns' Yes, but the year and for years to come, the nance• figures so far aren't encouraging. be -t guess is that Rockford has remain 33,400 public elms that The hazards of getting behind on tree removal have been stated "h t are barely able to cope an 11 -s•car backlog of d ^ad elms will die and have to be removed with this," he said dolefully. if removal continuci at the rate of will require an investment of many times. Dead elms are the 1,000 a year on public land only. more than 2- million. favorite breeding places of the ]'sonically, as of July 1, 1961, y , y ; beetles that transmit Dutch elm Rockford came into copyright Reforestation? You can't replace That's for removal alone. It disease. The more trees that di control of the city's official flag. what basn't b:ea removed. And, does not replace or replenish. `f But officials will find very little again, it takes money. , the bigger becomes the epidemic, to salute when the look at it. Disease Wont Wait And as the dead and dying trees y Here, in the sum.:_er of 1961, is , The banner features the message: what Rockford confronts: "It is not the nature df Dutch stand, they become brittle. Branch.. "Forest City." "The Forest City" reputation elm disease to wait for a tax ref- es splinter and fall. Forestry fore* was based 52 per cent on elms la erenndum or for city officials to man Grosch one day last week cated -n public parkways and be convinced of its destructive answered two calls — one an bculevards, a co!nnv of majestic Power before it starts its relent- 17th Ave. and another on Concord Reproduced from s` -de trees mimbering 47,000. They less march across any city which Ave. — both involving large limbs the July 2, 1961 ,are a1l doomed. fails to head it off before it reach- that had crashed to the ground, i In HA. the first case of a dis•Ies epidemic stages," said John C. one barely missing a child. issue by permission eziwd elm in the Rockford area Van Camp last year. Rockford's dismal reputation of the was found. Another 128 cases were Van C9mp is the only forester as the Forest City is having its idcntifted in 1956, and 526 mom Rockford ever had. He quit inert everywhere — on land Rockford Morning Star in 19:,7. After that, the nwii` is 1957, unable to convince city offi- values, on other public agencies Rockford, Illinois bccau�e i':e of::..al cials they should not "add doom such as the park district, and on icount stopped. Ito despair" by ignoring the clmlprivate enterprise in the form of But William C. Grc�ch, fore - (disease threat. iCentral Illinois Electric and Gas man rf Rockford's Forestry Complacency in hi,h places had CO- !aiy5, by the cnd of t h i �iits counterpart in the c'.cctorate. Normally, the utility company �y r 0i,- tu'I ` r ,1 "ill h ^'Tn Noumher of 19:9 and agair: would employ a forestry staff of ); Tl:r,'s cr ^-a vaii,r [in No.c•rb ^r cf 1500, vn ±er: IQ and spend $100,000 it year on (r . fl .1 C.�7Y n or t !_1 ',j _1b.i ((0..71 rr, f.'.'C f/y tre': trimmirg, Undrr the on. ,L ..t rho 1 ti, �,_'an;I, ',,, -!,t of Ihrtrh elnr di case. 42 4 y t" July 24, 1963 Honorable Mayor Vavoulis and Members of City Council Comptroller Joseph Mitchell Gentlemen: Re: Necessity for emergency appropriation for Dutch Elm disease Experts on Dutch Elm disease agree that removal of all dead wood,or true sanitation, is the number one preventative measure to control the spread of the disease, which is transmitted by an elm beetle that must have dead wood as a host for favorable environment to reproduce itself. Immediate emergency action to prevent the spread of Dutch Elm disease would be put into operation by an inspection team made up of two men and a truck. Their job would be to visually inspect the trees for wilted leaves and other symptoms of the elm disease. They would gather wood samples for culture at the Bureau of Plant Industry, State Department of Agriculture. This crew can operate only during the months of May, June, July and August. Because of the short time left this year, we must operate four units, to isolate as many sites of the disease as possible. Total cost of four units for one month is $6,278.80. This type of inspection is an absolute necessity inasmuch as the State Division of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, will discontinue inspection for St. Paul and Minneapolis, and early detection will make control possible. This phase will most certainly have to be continued for at least the summer of 1964. St. Paul forester, Alfred Sterk, estimates two crews, each made up of a truck and driver, two tree trimmers and one groundsman, could remove all dead branches and wood from our boulevard trees in one year. Or, as the disease appears to be spreading, with a crash program using four crews it is hoped this phase could be completed or nearly completed in the five months left in 1963 at a cost of $54, 683. 60. S' -sn Li 4 y t" July 24, 1963 Honorable Mayor Vavoulis and Members of City Council Comptroller Joseph Mitchell Gentlemen: Re: Necessity for emergency appropriation for Dutch Elm disease Experts on Dutch Elm disease agree that removal of all dead wood,or true sanitation, is the number one preventative measure to control the spread of the disease, which is transmitted by an elm beetle that must have dead wood as a host for favorable environment to reproduce itself. Immediate emergency action to prevent the spread of Dutch Elm disease would be put into operation by an inspection team made up of two men and a truck. Their job would be to visually inspect the trees for wilted leaves and other symptoms of the elm disease. They would gather wood samples for culture at the Bureau of Plant Industry, State Department of Agriculture. This crew can operate only during the months of May, June, July and August. Because of the short time left this year, we must operate four units, to isolate as many sites of the disease as possible. Total cost of four units for one month is $6,278.80. This type of inspection is an absolute necessity inasmuch as the State Division of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, will discontinue inspection for St. Paul and Minneapolis, and early detection will make control possible. This phase will most certainly have to be continued for at least the summer of 1964. St. Paul forester, Alfred Sterk, estimates two crews, each made up of a truck and driver, two tree trimmers and one groundsman, could remove all dead branches and wood from our boulevard trees in one year. Or, as the disease appears to be spreading, with a crash program using four crews it is hoped this phase could be completed or nearly completed in the five months left in 1963 at a cost of $54, 683. 60. S' -sn n -2- Mayor and City Council Comptroller 7/24/63 Another phase of sanitation would be the immediate removal of an estimated 150 existing dead elm trees, at an estimated cost of $15, 000. The next phase of control, "tree spraying, " is difficult to estimate, and would be done only in infected areas where outbreak of the disease occurs. Mr. Sterk believes an amount of $15, 000, based on a cost of $3. 00 per tree, would take care of anything except an outbreak of epidemic proportions. The total emergency appropriation would be $90, 962. 40. There is no doubt that the inspection phase will have to be conducted next year, as well as a cleanup operation to finish the sanitation phase. However, after 1964 it is hoped the disease will be contained and that a slight acceleration of our existing tree trimming program will enable our forestry division to keep St. Paul's boulevard trees more healthy and beautiful than in their present state. Sincerely, Frank L. Loss Commissioner of Parks and Recreation and Public Buildings EXPERIENCE OF OTHER CITIES IN COMBATTING DUTCH ELM DISEASE Kansas City, Missouri The following information is contained in a letter from an architectural firm in Kansas City, and is quoted from information given by Herbert W. Brackney, Jr., the city's Park Department landscape architect, in charge of the program: "The following counts of infected and dead trees were made: Summer 1958 - 1, 900 Summer 1959 - 3, 600 Summer 1960 - 8, 000 Summer 1961 - 9, 500 "The first tree death due to Dutch elm disease was found in 1957, and in the summer of 1958 a report was prepared for the Park Deparm•t-+t declaring a crisis and asking for $1, 000, 000 immediately to meet it in order to save the city's 100, 000 elms. The city responded by giving the responsibility to the Park Department from the Department of Public Works and increasing the budget from $132, 000 to $182, 000 a year for 1958, 1959 and 1960. This .: owed to be so inadequate that the Park Department again asked for help to meet the ever increasing problem. "In November 1960 ...... the people voted to grant the city authority for a special assessment by benefit districts to provide funds for the tree program. Aut'iority was also granted to allow the city to take dead and diseased trees from private property. The city was divided into 20 districts, and the emergency program was started in March 1961. The legal council ruled that the property owners could not be billed until the work had been com- pleted, and contracts could not be made without funds being available; so $550, 000 was borrowed from the City's revolving fund. ".... By the end of 1961 this $550, 000 will be exhausted. This season, in addition to 3, 500 trees removed under the regular $182, 000 budget, 8, 500 trees were removed, 10, 000 stumps were taken out, 5, 000 trees were pruned, and 25, 000 trees were sprayed. ". . . . The situation is so critical because the Forestry Department under the Department of Public Works had for many years done practically no trimming and spraying, and the street trees were filled with dead wood and provided ideal conditions for the spread of the disease. In striking con- trast, the Park Department had an active tree care program and has had to remove very few trees. ". . . . The effect of the wholesale removal of trees here, most of which are from 15 to 30 inches in diameter, is terrible; and I hope that this can be avoided in St. Paul. Our tree cover is about 90 to 9576 elm; and in some cases, three - fourths of the trees in a block are removed. " -1- Experience of other cities in combatting Dutch elm disease - continued Detroit, Michigan Quoting from letter of Hare and Hare, Architects, Kansas City, to Mr. Louis Hill, Jr.: "Detroit has been fighting Dutch elm disease since 1950 and has managed to control it. Their dead tree removal for all causes is less than 176. How- ever, they do have an annual appropriation of $1, 800, 000, which is about $3. 00 per tree. In 1958 they were trimming about 60, 000 trees per year. " Hinsdale, Illinois From L. M. Carlman, Village Manager: "In general, we feel that over the long haul we may lose most, if not all, of our elms. A control pro- gram does slow the attrition rate. Experience indicates this can be con- trolled to about 27o per year. This allows a tree removal and reforestation effort to proceed at a reasonable rate, at a reasonable cost, and without the complete, sudden denuding of the elm population. Municipalities which have been unable to carry out an effective program have witnessed the complete loss of their elm population in a short period of time - from 5 to 10 years. " Greenwich, Conn. Excerpt from Reader's Digest in an article condensed from "American Forests" magazine: In 1945, Greenwich, Connecticut, one of the first American communities to be invaded by the fungus, was threatened with loss of most of its 6000 elms. The wild elms growing in swamps and woodlands couldn't be saved, --but for little more than a dollar a year per tree the destruction of the city's valued elms could be reduced to a minimum. . . . . by removing all dead elm wood and spraying. "It costs the town roughly $75 to remove a diseased tree, " Joe Dietrich, the town's Superintendent of Parks, stated. "That money could be used to protect the same elm for more than 50 years. We'd have a living tree, not a dead stump. " ... Money was promptly appropriated and local radio station and newspaper gave periodic bulletins about progress of the fight, etc. Neighborhood groups pooled their dollars for coordinated campaigns on privately owned elms. ...... In the last ten years the annual loss of elms in Greenwich has dropped from 186 to little more than 30, and Dutch elm disease control is now just "routine maintenance" there. Greenfield, Mass. ..... Has nearly one elm for each inhabitant, has kept the rate of afflicted trees to a negligible two- tentls of one per cent a year. The whole town is alerted to the threat and the tree warden receives about 1400 phone calls annually from citizens reporting susp cious elms. (From American Forests, July 1957) Buffalo, N. Y. To finance a control program, Buffalo, N. Y. , floated "tree bonds, " in the same way they finance other municipal improvement programs. IWAE u ' Experience of other cities in combatting Dutch elm disease - continued Brookline, Mass. ". . . . While neighboring communities show double and triple the loss of previous years, the percentage of elms lost is no worse than that of maples or other shade trees. 'If we were to let our elms go because of neglect, it would cost our taxpayers well over a million dollars for removal alone, ' stated Daniel Warren, Superintendent of Parks, 'to say nothing of the decline in real estate values, loss of civic beauty beyond price. When you save elms, you save dollars.' " (From American Forests.) Bexley, Ohio (suburb of Columbus) "Boulevards and park areas are almost completely denuded of elms, only long rows of great decapitated trunks remaining. The village has already spent nearly $100, 000 for removal plus more than $25, 000 for planting sap- lings. " Urbana and Champaign, Illinois ....... Have spent some $200, 000 in the last five years to remove trees stricken by the fungus. "Inertia and penny- pinching can sacrifice our elms- - and invite an economic problem perhaps a hundred times the cost of control measures, " says Dr. Howard C. Miller, the Dutch elm expert at the State University College of Forestry, Syracuse, N. Y. Freeport, Illinois Voters approved an "insurance policy" (several years ago) on their elms: A five -mill tax on each $100 assessed valuation - -for control measures before the disease strikes. Sycamore, Illinois The local Chamber of Commerce acted as a clearinghouse for homeowners who wanted their trees protected by spraying. . . . Now the city is ad- ministering the control program. Wheaton, Illinois The city was divided into 29 "tree protection districts" and the elms in each were put under the surveillance of one of the 29 cooperating civic organizations. Greenbrier Hills subdivision of Kirkwood, Mo. "Garden club members plastered every diseased tree with giant crosses of yellow paint. When land- owners saw the 250 marked elms, they awakened to the threat and started doing something about removal. " Amherst and Easthampton, Mass. These two towns, only ten miles apart -- Amherst continued to protect its elms; Easthampton made a good effort, then neglected the problem for two years. While Amherst's rate of diseased trees decreased to under one per cent, Easthampton within two years saw its loss jump from no trees to 11 per cent of the elm population. So instead of spending just $1650 a year for control, Easthampton had to increase its outlay to $11, 750. 00. -3- Rockford's Tragic Blunder: Allowing Its Elms To Vanish By STANLEY BUCKLES vey, estimates the loss at 28,000 $250,000 a year for tree purposes. men are now working on trees Morning Star Staff Writer elms. I A property owner with a home and the yearly expense is $250, - Rockford's most tragic blunder The most inexperienced observ- assessed at $10,000, would have 000, a utility spokesman said. — failure to save the city's 47,000 er has only to look at Rockford paid $5 a year maximum to keep Damage Lines elms -- today is obvious to every streets to answer the next ques- the elm tree killer under control, g citizen. tion: How is tree removal keep- Now costs loom higher and the Utility crews are concerned only An estimated 15,000 elms will ing up with the loss? The obvious ultimate result will be denuded with trees that might damage be dead by the end of 1961. Anoth- conclusion: Not at all. streets. their power lines. But they have er 10,000 may die next year. Of the 15,000 elms that Grosch found that 92 per cent of these Money is lacking to cut down figures are dead, the city re -Allot Less Funds are on public land. the dead trees. Monev, too, is moved about 2,600 during 1958, In the face of this, Rockford's In their service area covering Winne- lacking to reforest the barren '59, and '60. (City Council each year allots less Rockford, Loves Park, and Winne - streets. This year, another 1,000 dead bag was County, utility crews toppod and less for the lost cause: $88; Since Dutch elm disease as elms will come out. That's a to 000 financed the forestry division 2,546 dead elms through May of { first discovered in Rockford in tal of 3,600 removed, with !1,400 in 1957, $86,100 the next year. (this year, expect that number to 1954, it has spread into every yet to go. And that doesn't ac-.$62,200 the next. ;60,700 the next. grow to 5,000 before the end of part of the city leaving a memor. count for losses yet to come, Finally, in 1961, the council ap• 1961, ial to civic shortsightedness in the Probably another 10,000 next year propriated only $22,100. That al- Next years expected load: Be- form of stumps, cropped l oPP ed tree alone- ready has been spent to retain a P tween 8,000 and 9,000 elms to be trunks, leaves withered on frees Since trees vary in size and foreman and eight workers. At topped. Most of the tall stumps which still stand, endangering life thiftess, the cost of removal $60 a tree, these men could take that are left await the day when and property. must be reduced to an average down a total of 368 elms this the proper governmental !Belt can and even there, officials in Rock- remove them. Too Late, No Money ford's Public }Yorks Department year! Earl Elliot, Rockford Park They are being kept on the city Dis• Halt the disease. Experts say offer a variety of figures. But the trio superintendent, is still hope- it's too late and besides there most frequent one is $60 a tree. payroll on a deficit operation that ful that spraying ems in public fir ed how t di h d boy as discovered o isn't money In other words, starting next no parks will reduce losses. But the Remove the elms? Yes, but the year and for years to come, tie nance* figures so far aren't encouraging. best guess is that Rockford has remaining 33,400 public elms that The hazards of getting behind "We are barely able to cope on tree removal have been stated an 11-year backlog of dead elms will die and have to be removed 1 ,kuth this." he said dolefully. if removal continues at the rate of�will require an investment of,many times. Dead c ms are the Iroracally, as of July 1. 1961, 1,000 a year on public land only mrne than $2-million. Ifa.orile breeding places of the ll,.mUnrd came into cop nght Reforestation? You can t repla •ej That's for removal alone. ItibeiECes that transmit Dutch elm icentrol of the city's official flag* what hasn't been rernotied. And !does not replace or replenish, disease. The more trees that che. IRst offic-ials will find very 11ttle again, it takes money. , the bi7ger becomes the epidemic. ;to salute when they look at it. Here, in the summer of 19fi1, 9s Disease Wont Wait And as the dead and dying trees The banner• features the messsgo: <iand, they become brittle. Brandt- i"Forest Ci ." what Rockford confronts. ` It is not t3:e nature dE Dutch City." ,,The Forest City" reputation elm disease to wait for a tax ref les splinter and fall. Forestry f,,re- was based 52 per cent on elms lo• erendum or for city officials to'man Grosch one day last week be convinced of its destructivejanswered two calls — one on bated on public parkways a n d boulevards, a colony of majestic Power before it starts its relent- 117th Ave. and another on Concord Reproduced from less march across an city which!Ave —both involving large limbs shade trees numbering 47,000. They! Y Y the July 2, 1961 are all doomed. fails to head it off before it reach -ias that had crashed to the ground, In 1954, the first case of a dis•11'an es epidemic stages," said John C. one barelv missing a child. > ss tc by permission eased elm in the Rockford area Camp last year. Rockford's dismal reputation of the the Forest City is having its was found. Another 128 cases were Van CJmp is the only forester . identified in 1956• and 528 morel Rockford ever had. He quit in ttmpact everywhere — on land Rockford Morning Star in 1957. After that, the number is 1957, unable to convince city offi•values, on other public ate sibs Rockford, Illinois guesswork because the official cials they should not `add doom such as the park district, and on private enterprise in the form of count stopped. to despair' by ignoring the elm Central Illinois Electric and Gas But William C. Gro ;.h, fore. threat man of Rockford's Fomtry Divi- Complacency in h4gh places had Co. sioii, says, by the end of t h i s;lfs o,)unterpart in tl e electorate. Normally, the utility company }rear, the toll "prob:.bly" will be' In November of 193 and again would employ a forc-,try staff of 15,000 elms. That's con. orvative,iin November of 19;0, voters 20 and spend E1CO3C 0 a )car cn Dr. R. J. Campagra, formerly ofiturncd thumbs do-..n on a fore tr y tree trimming. tch blm dig- Urd ,-r the c^• aught of Dt:_ :,, 4+ the Illinois Natural History Sur•Itzx that might have yielded is'