1e Invoice '03 BlvdTree PruningCITYOF
CHANHASSEN
7700 Market Boulevard
PO Box 147
Cnanhassen MN 55317
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w:,/~,/c 3ha'lllassen mnus
MEMORANDUM
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUB J:
Todd Gerhardt, City Manager
Jill Sinclair, Environmental Resources Specialist
13 January 2004
Approval to pay invoice for 2003 Boulevard Tree Pruning
REQUESTED ACTION
Approve payment to Ostvig Tree, inc. for the amount of $22,486.41.
BACKGROUND
City boulevard trees have been planted along all new and improved collector
roads including, West 78th Street, Powers Boulevard, Audubon Road, Kerber
Boulevard, Coulter Boulevard, Century Boulevard, and Minnewashta Parkway..
The trees along these streets have been pruned annually or every other year since
1999. Public properties that also contain a number of city trees requiring
maintenance include all city parks, Bluff Creek Elementary School/Chanhassen
Recreation Center, City Hall/Library. Each year, it is necessary to prune selected
areas and roads in order to maintain the trees' proper structure and good growth
habits so that future costs of correcting potential problems will be minimized or
eliminated.
The pruning has always been outsourced due to the time involved and the
expertise needed. In the past, city crews have not been able to provide the time
needed or the skills required to do the pruning. The work generally takes two to
three full-time weeks to complete and should be done by a certified arborist. In
the past, a local arborist has pruned the trees in pre-selected areas working as a
one- or two-man crew and basing his cost on a per-tree price, rather than an
hourly amount. He pruned the trees from the ground using pruning shears or a
small chain saw. This year, that arborist went out of business so the pruning work
was sent out for quotes.
The City of Chanhassen · ~, ,[7ro'~,ing com~nuoity with clean lakes quality schools a ,s~arrning downtowr)thriving !)LIS~ rls!,qS % 'v¥indin~ trails and beauql[i [)arks /~ !rear ia? l,c, ii,,,e ,,,xtra< ap,el [)!ay'
Todd Gerhardt
January 13, 2004
Page 2
DISCUSSION
The city sent letters to seven tree care companies on November 4 to solicit quotes.
Stipulations of the bid included that all work was to be completed by December
31, 2003 and that the work crew include at least one certified arborist. The
returned quotes were opened on November 24. Ostvig Tree, Inc. won the contract
with the lowest hourly rate of $91.80. Funding for boulevard tree pruning was
dedicated in the 2003 Forestry budget and set at $22,000. I expected the total to
be less than $15,000, but in the end that wasn't enough to cover the scope of the
work.
Ostvig Tree kept me informed throughout the project on the time used and the
amount of money left in the original budget. On December 29, 2003, I was
informed by Otsvig Tree that $15,000 would be spent by mid-day and there was
still work to be done. I had reviewed the forestry budget earlier in the week and
knew there was enough funding available to complete the project. I authorized
the contractor to finish the work. Ostvig Tree was told to prune until the end of
the day on December 31, 2003, completing the streets first and then pruning all
young trees at Lake Susan Park as time permitted. At that moment, it didn't occur
to me that the final amount would require prior City Council approval. I made the
decision knowing that the work needed to be done, that we had selected the
lowest quote available, and that the funding was there, but made the mistake of
authorizing the additional work without council approval.
Boulevard trees on the following roads and areas were pruned: City Hall,
Chanhassen Rec. Center/Bluff Creek Elementary, Lake Susan Park, Audubon Rd.,
Century Blvd., Coulter Blvd., Kerber Blvd., and Powers Blvd. There were
approximately 1,000 - 1,500 trees pruned in a total of 230 hours with a two- to
four-man crew using a bucket truck and chain saws.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Pruning bid summary sheet
2. Ostvig Tree, Inc. invoice
G:\PlanXJS\Forestry projects\Boulevard Tr¢cs\pruning inv memo 03.doc
OSTVIG TREE, INC.
Suite 200
1421 E Wayzata Blvd.
Wayzata, MN 55391
Invoice
DATE INVOICE #
12/31/2003 8887
BILL TO
City of Chanhassen
Ms Jill Sinclair
7700 Market Boulevard
P.O. Box 147
Chanhassen, MN 55317
P.O. NO. TERMS REP
Due on receipt TRY
DESCRIPTION QTY RATE AMOUNT
LABOR bioORS 230 91.80 21,114.00
TREE PRUNING ALONG CITY STREETS FOR 2003
Sales Tax 6.50% 1,372.4 I
:[ECEIVED
lAN 0 2 2004
Cl'P OF CHANHASSEN
THANK YOU FOR YOUR BUSINESS
1.5% Interest per month will be charged to accounts over 30 days 'rota $22,486.41
Phone # Fax # E-mail Web Site
952-473-0534 763-479-3620 info(~ostvigtree.com www. ostvigtree,com