Julia's Emails

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Background: Over he ast year, ive historic Elm trees were removed rom the OmahaAvenue median strip that runs rom Rosa Parks Way to Killingsworth Street nNorthPortland. Three of the five fiees cams down September th with no notice or explanationfrom the city causing shock and devastation mong esidents. Soon he neighborhoodlearned even worse news: the City of Portland had no intention of replacing any of the

frees emoved. This annomeementpromptedthe Omaha eommtmitytotake action. fueneighbor, Julia Unangst, circulated nformation she earned rom conversations ithUrban Forestry and he Portland Bureau of Transportation's Maintenance Office. Belowyou will find her email correspondence ith neighbors, he Mayor's office, and other cilyworkers nvolved.

Emails to date:

Scptember 0"2009

Dear Neighbors,

I contacted he Urban Forestry and spoke with a fewdifferent people. F{ere s what Ifound out:

. Median strips are managed y the Portland Bureau of Transportation's Bureau ofMaintenance BOM). The BOM funds he removal and replacement f trees on ourmedian. The Urban Forestry ests he trees or Dutch Elm Disease, ecommendsremoval, and hen s paidby BOM to remove he trees. PBOT antl BOM are underMayor Sam Adams' urisdiction.

. I spoke withe Peter Wojiciki a manager n the Bureau of Maintenance nd asked fthere s a replanting schedule or the 5 trees hat were removed rom our section of the

block. As far as he knows, here are no plans o replace ANY of the trees emoved.Aocording q him, they are under budget constraints ndcannot support he cost ofplanting new trees and maintaining hem for their first three years of life. He is goingto contact his supervisor, "arry Stevens, efore giving me a final answer on this.

. Rob Crouch at the Urban Foresfiry stimates hat t would cost approximately $150&1800 or Urban Forestry o replace ach ree.

. Rob agreed hat going forward, he Urban Forestry will place a notice on any trees hathave been approved or removal so we are aware of which trees will be cut downbefore t occurs. We are also ree o call Gary Hill or Autumn Montegna o find outwhat other rees have been ested and are due or removal.

I plan to followup

with Peter and Larry at the Bureau of Maintenance. Depending ontheir response, am ready o take his to Mayor Sam Adams. Please eel free to stop byour house f you have deas and/or email me.

Julia Unangst


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September 4,2A09

DearNeighbors,

I have earned quite bit about our median sifiration nthe last ew days. Here s a list ofimportant stuffyou might like to know:

. I spoke with Autumn at Urban Forestry who surveys our tees. She visits Omaha Aveevery l-2 weeks checking or "flagging," or dead eaves. The three rees hat camedown were all tested or Dutch Elm disease. Two came back positive, one did not.When she submitted he results o her supervisor, he decision was made o remove allthree. While she had no part n making his decision, she said he tree hat did not testBasitive did show signs of infeetron

. No other rees on Omaha were ested or appear o be nfected.

' Omaha rees are on a 3-year noculation cycle. They are given a sort of flu shot orDutch Elm disease. As we have seen, t does not always work.

. According o Gary Hill at UF, the remaining ree stumps should be removed n l-2weeks. He is submitting he work order oday. This is important since no new feescan be planted until those are gone.

. Peter at BOM got confirmation rom his supervisor arry Stevens hat the trees will notbe replaced. He gave me this nfo via voicemail and now I can't get ahold of him.

. The consensus mong hose at Urban Forestry s that we will need o replace he treesourselves. No funds are coming out of PBOT or this cause, t east not for a while.This also ncludes watering he new trees until they are established. Yet, they agreethat we should NOT assume ong term responsibility or the median. This is publicproperty and PBOT needs o set aside unds n their budget o care or our median.While they suggest we replaee he trees if that is what our neighborhood gres o do),we should keep pressure n PBOT and he Mayor's office until enough unds areallocated o our medians. (Omaha s not alone. Apparently he Ainsworth medianlooks even worse).

. In order o plant trees ourselves, we will need o obtain a tree permit from UF. Theywill give us some guidance n species, pacing, tc.

. Urban Foresfirywill lend us water bags, as Mike mentionod bofore, but we need oinitiate this and set hem up ourselves. think we might even need o pick them upfrom Gary. The water bags slowly water he trees over l-week time. This prevents heroots from growing up toward he surface and helps hem establish deep n the ground.(UF migtlt be able o give us some mulch too.)


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. They recommend lanting a variety of tees so a disease ike DED doesn't obliterate ourentire andscape ll at once.

. I was unable o get Dan Anderson n the Mayor's office on the phone, but I sent him anemail. see below]

. I called and spoke with Commissioner effCogen's ffice. We need o get stone-walled by the Mayor's offtce before hey will get nvolved.

I spokewith Howard at6424,Dan at 64l5,and Erika at6435 but have not heard romanyone else on our street. I think we might need o meet as a neighborhood o discusswhether or not members want to replace hese rees ogsther. This could nclude afrrndraiser o help subsidize he costs.. don't assume nyone has new trees built into theirbudget.

The Urban Forestry ecommended hat I attend heir Tree Steward ralning that begins at \the end of this month. Unfortunately, am unable o attend. If anyone else s interested,it sounds ike a great class. Here s a link to the nfo:http //www.portlandonline. om/parks/index.cfrn?c:4 124.

Thanks,Julia

Email from Aufumn Montegna, Urban X'orestOutreach Coordinator & EImMonitor:

From: Autumn MontegnaTo: Julia UnangstDate:Tue, 15 Sep 200909:05:,25 4700Subject:RE: Omaha Elm Trees

Hi Julia

I just spoke with Gary Hill {Urban Forestry Crew Boss). He said hat he talked with youyesterday. just wanted o let you know that I am still looking nto different resourcesand ways hat City Nature can parbrer with your neighborhood..For nstance, City Natuehas a Youth Conservation roup during the summer hat helps water and mulch newlyplanted City trees, maybe one way we might be able o he$ is in tree establishment. nthe mean ime, t might be beneficial o have a neighborhood meeting o further discussan action plan and or ways hat city nafure can help.


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Also, Friends of Trees s a great esource have been working with Greg Tudor on ourNeighborhood Tree Steward progftrm and he would be a great contact o get moreinformation.

Greg Tudor

Volunteer & Outreach CoordinatorFriends of Tree,s3l 17NE ML King Jr BlvdPortland, OR972l2503-?82.8846 xt.12www.Friendsof rees. rg

Please eel free o coatact me f you have any questions or would like to brainstorm anyideas.

Aurumn Montegna '-iUrban Forest Outreach Coordinator & Elm MonitorCity Nature, [Jrban Forestry503 7A1 7622Autumn. Mo nlqgna.@,.c.pegl and,.o .ug

Emait to the Mayor's Office:

From: Julia lJnangstSent: Mond&y,September 4,2A09 4:44 PMTo: Anderson, DanSubject: Omaha Ave Elm Trees and Median Care

Dear Dan Anderson.

I am writing to you in regards o the North Portland sfieet, Omaha Avenue. Over he astyear, we have had 5 Elm trees emoved due o Dutch Elm disease nd seen rrigation andgeneral care ofthe property decline. After speaking with several people at both ttreUrban Forestry and PBOT's Bureau of Maintenance, ur neighborhood as earned hatthere are no plans o replant he hees hat came down due o budget estrictions. Whilewe understand hat the deparffient s faced with very real fiscal consfiaints, as homeowners n this neighborhood nd citizens who care about Portland's nfrastructure, wecannot accept he current condition of our median. We are eady o take action as aneighborhood nd are now exploring ways we can replace he trees as a community. Themedian s already being cared or by neighbors who mow it regularly and water one smalltree.


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Though we will begin assessing he costs and options available o us, he ong term careof public property should not be eft under our charge. From my conversations, havelearned hat the decision o discontinue he care of our medians s not a nsw tend, butone hat has been developing or sometime. As we go forward, hope our medians--thetrees, he grsS, and nigation--will be treated by PBOT ike all other ntegral parts of ourtransportation nfr asmrcfi e.

Currently, he downed rees are affecting 23 homes on our block. Should he abruptchange hat has happened o our small section affect all of Omah4 the repercussionswould spread o the residents nd home values of more han 90 homes. Additionally,Omaha Avenue serves as a popular outdoor ecreational pace or the Arbor Lodge andOutlook communities. We have neighbors who come o our street o jog, walk theirdogs, Blay risbee, pte, It has also becomc a thoroughfare or eyelists aommutJng o aadfrom downtown. We will be forced o alert all neighbors and users of this public space oour current challenges s a community.

I would like to discuss his issue with you further. Please eel free o call me at thefollowing phone numbers.

-I hope your office will workwith us as we begin efforts o pleserve ur neighborhood'sinfrastructure and he quality of life in North Portland.

Thank you for yorn time,Julia Unangst

Response rom the Mayor's Office:

From; [email protected]: Julia UnangstDate:Tue, 15 Sep 200910:02:15 0700Subjeet: RE: Omaha Ave Elm Trees and Median Carr

Dear Julie,

I think youVe had a conversation with Peter Wojcicki in the Bureau of Transportation.I've received a bit more nformation rom Suzanne ahn, Group Manager orMaintenance Operations, which I thought 'd pass along:

"PBOT shares ach neighborhood's rustation when heir expectations ren't met aroundmaintenance f hard or green nfrastructure. And we continue o search or the most cost


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effective and efficient methods we can o take care of our city, which includes developingpartnerships with neighborhoods nd other groups.

In this particular ase, PBOT nvested ver $17,000 ast year noculating ll the rees onOmaha Avenue against Dutch Elm Disease n hopes of preserving hem. Unforturately,

5 elms and I cherry treestill died. It will-cost apprexiurately

20,000o replace hose.6

hees. This is our entire budget or sfreet area andscape, hich is currently dedicated odealing with dangerous ees and oliage.

However, we do recognize hat the neighbors' aesthetic oncerns re real. So we're ryingto develop a parhrership etween he neighbors, he urban orester and Friends of Trees ose"ef w.ecan.arrivs at a better solution or this neighborhood.

As an aside, he City Council directed all bureaus o prioritize their activities during astyear's budget proess. Prioritizing work inevitably eads o making rade-offs, e.g.$20,000will repairmore han 3@pot holes or replace trees. Street reservation ndrepair was de.emed he better use of resources."

It's not a firn time for crty bureaus, s you can see. We all wish we could do more. hopethe partnership ets he results you desire.

Sincerely,

Ginny P.eckiopaugh

Public Advocate Transportation0ffiee of Mayor Sam Adms1221SW Fourth Avenue, Suite 340Portland, OR97204E: [email protected]: 503-823-1384

Julia's Emails

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