City Council Strengthens Tree Fund

Saying they want to make sure the project is done right, City Council members have voted to spend $25,000 more than originally planned for the first phase of the Town Center tree planting.

The council had voted in early March to spend $30,000 for 290 medium-sized, yellow-blossomed tipuana tipu trees--more commonly referred to as a tipu tree--to be planted this summer along Del Prado Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway.

But when the city went out to purchase the trees, they found that nurseries are carrying fewer of the plants than in the past--and that prices have gone up sharply.

As a result, the city was faced with either having to buy smaller trees or paying considerably more for fuller ones. After much debate, the council decided on the latter, a choice that will boost the cost of the project to about $55,000.

“We’re looking at an investment in our business area,” Councilman Bill Ossenmacher said. “Let’s spend the extra money. Let’s do it right the first time. Let the community be proud of what we’ve done.”

The project, to begin this summer, is the first phase of a downtown renewal that could take as long as 15 years and cost as much as $10 million to complete.