Memorial trees’ costs soar
Years of neglect mean Fairlie’s Peace Ave memorial trees could cost the Mackenzie District Council up to $370,000 to make safe and maintain.
Concerns for the condition of the nearly 500 trees dating back to 1918 has increased in recent months with two identified high risk specimens near a playground and a limb from one of four trees damaged – three have since been removed – in high winds at
Easter falling on a passing car, seriously damaging it but causing no injury.
The trees, planted to commemorate the end of World War I, stretch along State Highway 8 from either side of the town and through its centre with 307 of the original trees still in place.
The council-commissioned report by Xyst Ltd, tabled at a recent council committee meeting, says 98 per cent of the trees require maintenance, with 12 classified as high risk, 201 as moderate risk, and 274 as low risk, based on their likelihood of failing and nearby locations they could damage.
The high risk trees include two oaks close to the playground in Fairlie.
‘‘Given proximity to playground, faults such as broken branches and failure of large limbs could result in failure that could cause significant damage or harm,’’ the report says of one of the oaks.
Seven trees are recommended for removal, including two high risk trees, while it is recommended ‘‘that the other high risk trees are monitored closely on a regular basis and removed if deterioration continues’’.
Currently an agreement between the council and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency limits maintenance to $8000 a year, unless otherwise agreed.
‘‘In our view, to proactively maintain the 487 peace trees, the limit on costs for physical works needs to be increased significantly,’’ the report says.
It is estimated $200,000-$220,000 worth of immediate maintenance was needed, broken down as $10,000-$12,000 for tree removal, $8000-$10,000 for maintenance of high risk trees, $30,000-$40,000 for maintenance on those in proximity to the road, $7500-$15,000 for maintenance of the township
trees, $10,000-$20,000 for peace trees on private land and $100,000-$175,000 for the remaining trees.
The replacement of reactive tree maintenance with contracting a specialist arboricultural contractor to undertake regular monitoring and maintenance of Peace Ave trees was also recommended along with one hour of maintenance per tree, or $150 a tree, allocated a year.
With 487 trees, this would cost $73,050 per year. which the report says would ‘‘likely be better value for money ... in the long term’’.
The council has also been been urged to replace lost trees with new ones over the next 10-15 years and prepare succession planting for the future.
In taking into the consideration of the status of the existing trees, the gaps between the trees, and the requirements to set trees back from the road corridor the report ‘‘identified the opportunity to plant an estimated 300 trees in various locations along the Peace Avenue’’.
It was estimated that each new tree would cost between $475 and $525 to plant and maintain for three years until it became self-sustaining. For 300 trees this would cost $142,500-$157,500.
The report says while the ‘‘initial establishment costs may seem high on a per-tree basis ... trees are one of the only public assets that appreciate in value and, when costs are looked at in the context of their potential 100+ year lifespan, the costs are minimal’’.
‘‘There is scope for the community/ schools to perhaps be involved in collecting acorns from existing trees in the Fairlie Village Green and growing these into future replacement trees for the Peace Ave.’’
In another report tabled at the same meeting, council community facilities and services officer Brian Milne said ‘‘the major windstorm during Easter severely damaged four Peace Ave trees, where they lost significant limbs, and three of these trees have now been removed as the extent of the damage meant they were no longer safe.
‘‘The remaining tree will be further assessed, to determine if it can be saved.’’