The City of Kirkwood has completed the first stage of a Tree Inventory project, thanks to a grant from the Missouri Department of Conservation.  The Tree Resource Improvement and Maintenance (TRIM) grant of up to $10,000, to be used towards an inventory of public trees, was awarded in Fall 2014.  The first phase of the inventory was completed over the winter months.

In December 2014, a contract was awarded to Arbor Pro for professional tree inventory services for all trees in public right-of-way areas in Kirkwood.  Arbor Pro collected information on more than 2,660 public trees.  The collected data included common and botanical name, diameter, height, condition, and location. The first phase inventoried the southwest portion of the City and the downtown area.  The inventory was collected on a GIS (geographic information system) map and can be found on the City's Website at www.kirkwoodmo.org/CityMap.

A tree inventory is a useful forestry management tool for the City's thousands of publicly owned trees but is especially effective in light of the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), as it moves into the region.  The inventory will be used to identify the number of ash trees the City owns and their condition.  The EAB is a beetle accidentally introduced into North America more than a decade ago.  In 2008 the beetle was detected in Missouri. In 2014, it was found in St. Charles County. Its larvae feed on and kill ash trees.  Additional information about the EAB can be found on the Department of Conservation's Website at: http://mdc.mo.gov/your-property/your-trees-and-woods/tree-diseases-and-pests/emerald-ash-borer-management

The goal of the MDC program is three-fold:

1)      To assist Missouri communities in initiating or significantly improving their efforts to care for the community forest

2)      To encourage communities to have a sustainable, balanced, and comprehensive community forestry program

3)      To promote community forestry benefits through the proper management and care of trees in Missouri communities

The City will apply for additional TRIM grants in 2015 and 2016 to continue and complete the tree inventory. 

The Plan's objectives included replacing a minimum of 1 percent of the City's aging water mains each year. To meet this goal, the City commissioned a Master Plan (also available on the Website) to evaluate the system and develop a rate structure to fund the plan.  The Master Plan concluded that more than $50 million was needed over the next 20 years to preserve the water distribution system's reliability.

To fund these improvements, Kirkwood's City Council authorized implementation of a new Infrastructure Renewal Charge (IRC) to be added to water bills in the City, effective April 1, 2015. The charge will be assessed at $1.04 per 100 cubic feet of water used (or 748 gallons) by each customer.  To help offset the IRC, the City will suspend the monthly fire hydrant fee of $2.33 per month.

It remains the City's goal to provide a reliable, high-quality public drinking water system to its current and future citizens in an equitable and fiscally sound manner.  Any questions can be addressed to Kirkwood Water at 314-984-5936.

As a gardener, sometimes you just need to know when to surrender.  For the last several years I have fought tree roots along my front sidewalk and tried to get annuals to flourish as they had in the past.  Each year the annuals look about the same size in the fall as the day they were planted in the spring.  This year I surrender and will put several medium-sized pots along the sidewalk with annuals.  Hoping for the drama of beautiful flowers, I'll plant the pots with a "thriller" (tall plant), a "filler" (spreading plant that doesn't get too tall), and a "spiller" (a plant that will drape down the side of the pot).  Around the pots I'll attempt to plant some ground cover.  If that doesn't root, the answer will be mulch.  Sometimes you just have to give up!

-- Written by Cathy Reber

Everyone is invited to the garden club's next meeting on Tuesday, April 7, at the Community Center, at 7:00 p.m.