Not even Modesto officials are immune to consequences of underfunded forestry division
Modesto Councilwoman Kristi Ah You got an unexpected surprise the afternoon of June 18, as a large branch split from a city tree on the north side of her business’s property and landed with a crash on the roof.
The branch from the Chinese pistache tree drove a hole through the ceiling of the Franklin & Downs Funeral Home and disrupted a service. Ah You and her husband, Bart, asked the business’s corporate headquarters to file a claim against the city to pay for the damages.
Ah You said she wanted nothing to do with the claim — though its existence proves not even the city’s own politicians are immune to the effects a cash-strapped Modesto Community Forestry division has on its residents.
“I’m an elected official, I couldn’t have my name on the claim since it is against the city,” Ah You said. “I just filed a report with the corporate headquarters and let them handle the rest.”
It took a matter of minutes for the first forestry worker to arrive to check the damage from the branch. Over an hour later, two others from the forestry division showed up to remove it from the business’s roof.
“I’m estimating it will cost us about $4,200 to repair the roof and ceiling,” Ah You said. The claim was filed for $6,000 — the additional $1,800 likely to cover the damage to the air conditioning system that had not yet been assessed, Ah You said.
But the damage to the business is not the only thing left behind. The tree still stands — filled with rot, the councilwoman said. “It’s the city’s problem, it’s their tree,” she said. “They need to take care of their trees.”
The same day the branch crashed down on Franklin & Downs, another tree branch fell on a car, causing about $1,000 of damage. During the whole month of June, 21 tree-related claims were filed (as of the publication of this article), totaling more than $56,000 of damage claims.
“We were at (a Graffiti Summer event), and my neighbor called us and said a huge tree branch had fallen on my son’s truck in the driveway,” said Shannon Carpenter, who lives near Standiford and McHenry avenues and filed a claim for over $8,000 on June 11 to cover the damage to the truck.
Her son had bought the truck from his godfather, and it held sentimental value that was smashed in an instant by the city’s negligence, Carpenter said. Her claim was denied, and she plans to take legal action in hopes of getting at least some money back.
“I have called the city several times over the past 10 years,” she said. “When the forestry person came out to look at the fallen branch, he said this tree should have been gone long ago.”
The forestry division has found its ability to maintain the city’s trees crippled by an ever-shrinking budget struggling to break even every year. However, the question over whether the trees are worth the investment is simple to answer, said former Urban Forestry Superintendent Chuck Gilstrap.
“We, at one time, had an international reputation for our urban forest,” Gilstrap said. Trees, on average, in Modesto return about $2 for every $1 spent, according to a 1999 study done by the University of California at Davis and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service.
But beyond money, Gilstrap said, the trees give back so much more. From better air quality to shade to simple beauty, trees are an asset to the urban landscape, he said.
Bill Sandhu, director of the city’s Public Works Department, which oversees the Community Forestry division, has said before that he requested $500,000 to help the upkeep of the trees. But that request was denied and, so far, no additional funds have been distributed, according to city spokesman Thomas Reeves.
“If they would give the (forestry) program the money it deserves, it would greatly change things for the better,” Gilstrap said. “This city is not visionary anymore, they don’t realize the value of what hangs over their heads.”
This story was originally published July 28, 2019 at 12:06 PM.
