The City of Meridian is continuing the hunt for an urban forestry expert to help manage problematic trees growing throughout the city.

 

In a City Council meeting Tuesday, Community Development Director Craig Hitt said urban forestry is not a large field, and his department’s first time advertising the position did not yield any qualified candidates. The position is currently being advertised again, he said.

 

The urban forestry position was created by the City Council in November at the request of Community Development after Kevin Locke, who previously handled the city’s tree needs, stepped into a larger role in the city planning department. Hitt said Tuesday there simply isn’t enough time for Locke to do both.

 

“Kevin has moved to the planning manager’s position and doesn’t have time to take care of planning as well as the tree issues that come our way,” he said.

 

Ward 2 Councilman Dwayne Davis broached the subject of trees asking Public Works Director David Hodge about trimming branches growing over streets in his ward. Council members Joe Norwood Jr. and Romande Walker also named areas in their wards where trees need some attention.

 

While Public Works crews can trim the trees, Hodge said there is a process that must be followed before the saws come out. Crews need Community Development to sign off on the work before they can begin.

 

“They’re the sheriff over whether a tree can get cut down or not,” he said.

 

The urban forester will be tasked with deciding which of the city-owned trees should be removed or trimmed, however Council members also pointed to instances of trees on private property growing over roadways or into public spaces.

 

State law limits city crews from working on private property except in a few specific circumstances, but limbs growing over the roadway can be cut back. City Attorney Will Simmons said there is no obligation for the city to act, but it can intervene if it so chooses.

 

Also on Tuesday, the City Council approved a $1,896,993.17 million purchase from Pileum Corporation for security cameras and systems. Gabrielle Jones, manager of information systems for the city, said the figure represents a lump sum including cameras and systems across all city departments.

 

“What that is is just the big number for what it’s going to cost to put the cameras in every city building, not just the city cameras that feed into the RTCC but also Public Works and Community Development, the parking garage and several different places and locations,” she said.

 

The actual purchase will be divided up based on what each city department is getting, Jones said, with costs for the systems and equipment will be paid by each department separately.

 

The council also approved a service agreement with Pileum for repair support for the equipment.