LYNN –– The Department of Public Works (DPW) is searching to fill its tree crew after a four-month backlog of tree takedowns and trims.
In June, the DPW promoted its former tree foreman, and since then, the Department has been having trouble filling the tree crew internally.
“We’ve been out of a tree crew since June, which has led to a backlog of tree takedowns and trims,” DPW Commissioner Andrew Hall said at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
To rectify this, the DPW has been working with the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 193 labor union to create a new tree foreman position with adjusted responsibilities.
In the meantime, the DPW has also been working with a contracted tree service company to handle tree trims and to remove the “worst of the worst” of tree takedowns.
“Even if we had a tree crew, we couldn’t take some of these down. They require cranes or specialized equipment that we simply don’t have,” Hall said.
The DPW currently has a contractor on board for emergency work, but the Department wishes to avoid paying him extra for non-emergency tasks.
“My ideal situation would be to have a contractor on board for emergencies, for routine trims, and for non-emergency takedowns, as well as an internal person with our tree truck and chipper to take care of all the rest. It’s far more expensive to have a contractor do it than a City of Lynn employee,” Hall said.
Ward 6 Councilor Fred Hogan noted that the tree backlog situation is urgent, especially with the upcoming storm season.
“We’re way behind. It’s hard telling constituents that something that’s in a bad situation has to be put on hold because we transferred someone to another department without having another person hired. We need to get this moving fast,” Hogan said. “We’re kicking the can down the road before something major happens.”
City Council urged the DPW to solidify a subcontract with a tree service company and to fill the tree foreman position within the next three weeks in order to take care of the tree backlog as soon as possible.
“This backlog keeps me up at night,” Hall said.
