Helena to plant Rodney Street replacement trees, considers protection law

Nolan Lister

Multiple city of Helena departments are set to coordinate the planting of about 70 boulevard trees along Rodney Street in May, replacing the more than 100-year-old trees decimated during an infrastructure upgrade project last summer.

Helena’s Urban Forestry Supervisor Chris Daly said in an interview Monday he ordered 80 trees “just to have some extras” at a cost of about $16,000. In total, the planting of 70 replacement trees will cost the city about $24,000, including 20-gallon, slow-release watering bags for each tree, Daly said.

During a budget work session on April 12, city staff said with the trees already ordered and the constraints presented by Rodney Street infrastructure, planting more mature trees to replace those lost during construction is not possible.

Helena City Commission Sean Logan recently pitched an idea to his fellow commissioners to use remaining American Rescue Plan Act dollars to upsize the trees.

People are also reading…

“We ordered our trees last year,” City Manager Tim Burton told the commission April 12. “And these are the best trees that you can buy, and they fit with the four species we have planted already, and so

View Source