HOBART — The city expects to have more than 800 trees removed from public parkways this year, all of which have fallen victim to the emerald ash borer.
“This is the first year that we’ve been hit particularly bad. The last two years were minor. This year, the damage really showed,” Public Works director John Dubach said Friday.
He said the Glenwood and Merrillville Heights areas took especially bad hits, although the disease that affects only ash trees has spread throughout the city.
The Board of Public Works and Safety received a request last week to remove an ash tree from the parkway in the 900 block of Union Street. The petitioner said the top portion of the tree was completely dead and the bottom portion was mostly dead.
The board usually asks the petitioner if they’re willing to pay for the removal of a tree in a parkway, but Mayor Brian Snedecor said this request would be turned over to the Public Works department to be added to the list that the city would pay to have removed.
“We’ll take a pro-active response to dealing with this. There are quite a few trees that need to be removed,” Snedecor said.
Dubach said the city hired outside tree services, which have already started the removal process.
“We’re putting around $110,000 into it this year (hiring contractors) and will probably do it next year, too,” Dubach said.
According to the www.emeraldashborer.info, the emerald ash borer is an exotic 1/2-inch long beetle that probably arrived in the United States on wood packing material in either a cargo ship or airplane. It was first discovered in northern Indiana in 2004 and in southeastern Michigan in 2002.
The adult beetle does little damage as it nibbles on the foliage. But the larvae feed on the inner bark of the tree, disrupting the tree’s ability to transport water and nutrients, the website said.
Dubach said the Barrington Ridge subdivision off Indiana 51 and 61st Avenue was hit last year. About 60 smaller infected trees were taken down in the newer subdivision, Dubach said.
He blamed the harsh winter for the much larger outbreak this year.
“It usually takes three years from the time the tree is infected until it dies. I think the harsh winter moved up the process,” he said.
He said the city only pays for the infected trees that are on city parkways.
Any tree inside the homeowner’s property line is their own responsibility, he said.
Dubach said none of the infected trees on city property will be replaced, saying no trees should have been planted there. He said the parkways aren’t wide enough to support the trees.
“The saddest part is a lot of beauty is going away,” he said.