Kicked to the curb

By MARKUS ERMISCHStaff reporterMar 23 2007 http://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/

Wait-list full for city removal of beetle-kill pine trees. When Allan Stradeski called the city’s pine-beetle hotline Monday to arrange for the pickup of tree debris he had left curbside, he was surprised by the response from the other end. The Dufferin resident was told by the city that it is no longer guaranteeing the collection of beetle-kill debris because about 150 people are on a waiting list, enough to keep crews busy until the curbside pickup program ends May 25. Stradeski was even more surprised when, on Tuesday, he heard a radio advertisement promoting the program. Rather than run such misleading ads, Stradeski said the city should inform residents the program is fully booked until the end of May and unable to guarantee the collection of wood debris. Just before calling the hotline to arrange for a pickup date, Stradeski had felled three ponderosa pines on his properties.

The wood from the trunks he’ll use for firewood. The branches, however, are piled up by the curb. Now, he’ll have to haul them to the drop-off site himself. Stradeski said this is not a problem — he owns a truck and a trailer — but noted he was bothered by the fact the city had failed to inform residents the program is fully booked. Despite the communication glitch, Stradeski said the program is an “excellent idea” because “having the curbside pickup certainly helped keep the cost down for homeowners.” The curbside pickup scheme, implemented last December with funding from the City of Kamloops and the federal government, is co-ordinated by Community Futures Development Corporation (CFDC). CFDC’s Shirley Culver said the wait-lists were implemented about 10 days ago.

Once the program ends in May, she said about 290 Kamloops households will have been helped removing debris from more than 1,500 trees. Originally, CFDC had estimated that 1,260 trees would be removed. According to city estimates, pine beetles have infested about 22,000 ponderosa pines on private land in Kamloops. Culver said feedback from the community about the program has invariably been positive. Pending approval of another application for $230,000 in federal funds, the curbside program will resume in September. City council agreed in February to include $200,000 in this year’s budget to continue the program in the fall. Culver said people who did not make the wait-lists should remove tree debris themselves to prevent fire hazards.