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City could see more green soon

Commissioners allocated money to the second phase of a plan to add trees and make sure current ones are healthy.

By LORRI HELFAND
Published January 4, 2006

LARGO - This city was once known for having a landscape laden with pines and palmettos. Now, Largo officials have a plan to recapture some of that lush heritage.

"We're trying to green up Largo and get that covered canopy look back that was once here," said parks superintendent Greg Brown.

Tuesday night, city commissioners allocated funds for the second phase of an effort to plant more trees and make sure the city's existing crop is as healthy as possible.

The city's plan is called the Urban Forest Master Plan. Largo's long-term goals are to inventory city trees, gauge their condition, replace damaged trees, plant about 5,000 new trees over the next five years and control exotic species that can overrun native plants.

The urban forest includes all of the trees on private and public lands, but Largo's plan is focused on public areas.

Last year, the city spent $50,000 to inventory Largo's tree system, rate the condition of trees and develop the plan. Half of that money came from a National Urban Forestry Grant administered by the state Division of Forestry.

Two months ago, the City Commission accepted a $174,862 grant from the Division of Forestry, which will help the city complete the plan, ease the effects of past storms and reduce potential damage from future storms. The city will contribute an additional $58,288 for this phase of the plan.

Tuesday night, the City Commission voted to include the revenues and expenditures in this year's budget.

So far, ArborPro Inc., a California company that specializes in high-tech tree management, has surveyed about 6,500 of the city's approximately 12,000 trees on rights of way and public property. Recent funding will help complete that inventory.

The city is using special software and a global positioning system to plot the location of trees, identify their species and track their health.

Brown said the data would be especially helpful if there are diseased or declining trees in certain areas.

The system can help track where those trees are and tell staff which ones need to be replaced. The software also provides information about adjacent utilities to determine where to plant trees and which species are best for particular areas.

Of the surveyed trees, about 445 need to be trimmed to withstand future storms. The grant will pay for the trimming and help reimburse the city for expenditures to replace at least 200 trees lost or damaged during the 2004 hurricane season.

Lorri Helfand can be reached at 445-4155 or at lorri@sptimes.com

Gave initial approval to spending $135,000 in sales tax revenue to renovate Largo Central Park's Military Court of Honor. Projected costs for improvements are $344,500. Other funds include $198,400 from a federal grant and $11,100 in donations.

Approved proposed amendments to the city charter, which will be voted on by residents at the March 7 election.

Approved guidelines for Largo's municipal general elections.

[Last modified January 4, 2006, 01:07:18]