Folsom to extend contract with Sacramento Tree Foundation

The Folsom City Council in November agreed to extend a three-year contract with the Sacramento Tree Foundation for city tree preservation services. The council postponed the item in October to study volunteer options at the request of Vice-Mayor YK Chalamcherla. The replacement program is funded by in-lieu tree mitigation fees charged by the city when trees are removed for development. Staff said the previous three-year contract was for $480,000, while the new three-year term is pegged at $645,000. Chalamcherla felt $215,000 a year was a steep price and suggested staff and volunteers could perform much of the tree planting duties at a lower cost. After studying volunteer options during the last month, Folsom tree staff returned to the Nov. 14 council meeting to explain the Sacramento Tree Foundation offers the best overall program while inherently coordinating volunteer efforts already. "Given the full suite of services we would be getting under the new contract ... staff determined that it would make more sense to have everything inclusive under this contract," said Folsom City Arborist Aimee Nunez. With a focus on development over the last several years, the Tree Fund maintained a positive cash balance throughout the previous contract, staff said. The fund currently stands at almost $1 million. Specifically, the services are meant to increase Folsom's urban forest through new programs and services for tree planting, replacement and maintenance. With the approval, the Sacramento Tree Foundation will also create new tree programs and events in Folsom. The estimated cost for one-inch native tree replacement – including site preparation, irrigation, planting materials, labor, irrigation and monitoring for three years to ensure 100-percent survival – is roughly $389. Costs will vary, depending on replanting project scale, location, tree size and species, irrigation method and more. "Landmark" oaks Meanwhile, the City Council on Nov. 14 also officially bestowed two oak groves around the city with "landmark" status, including 250 acres of woodlands around Folsom State Prison. The city began the Landmark Tree Initiative in 1996, but the registry was dormant for 23 years until a recent city dispute with PG&E and aggressive tree-cutting two years ago. The utility has since dialed back some Folsom oak tree cutting after public pressure. While PG&E safety measures override the registry, any request to remove a landmark tree requires council discussion and declassification, staff said. Nunez said one benefit of having a landmark tree is the city will actually help citizens with consulting and possibly even maintenance. The other oak area identified is the controversial Oak Parkway Trail corridor, a PG&E right-of-way. The corridor is not really a "grove" like the prison trees but a 1.4-mile corridor of 49 acres with dispersed small groups and individual trees. The utility is required to cut woodlands under power lines for fire safety by order of the California Public Utilities Commission. City officials praised PG&E for doing an "about face" and working with the city to save some trees from destruction after what council members called "capricious" oak tree cutting two years ago.