Members of the St. James Forestry Board met Thursday to discuss trees that may need to be removed during the Safe Routes to Schools grant project.

Mayor Dennis Wilson explained the goal of examining the trees.
“They will look at the trees and make a decision what to do with each tree that presents a problem,” Wilson said. “For some, it may only require cutting the roots.”

The grant’s purpose is to help the community develop safe walking routes for students. The City of St. James had previously applied for the grant involving the sidewalks by the middle and elementary schools. The city did not receive either grant, but applied for the ARRA Stimulus money available through MoDOT for the project and was approved, according to Wilson.

The project includes two phases of work and totals approximately $170, 000, Wilson said.

Terry Gordon, arborist on the Forestry Board, and Forestry board members Gene Carney and Gary Huffman walked along the sidewalks in the area around the high school and elementary school to examine the trees.

“Terry is the key to this whole deal and he has a lot to do with what trees get replaced and what trees can stay,” Carney said.
Carney said the Forestry Board would make a recommendation to the St. James City Council.

“We are evaluating each tree tonight and deciding if the tree can be saved or if the tree has to come out to make a new sidewalk,” Carney said.

Carney explained that the new sidewalks would be widened from four feet to five feet, according to MoDOT.

“We want to save every tree we can if it’s possible,” Carney said.
Carney said the area they examined Thursday was mostly on Highway 68 and Scioto.

The Forestry Board members also discussed a possible tree species list for trees that will work well by the street.

Wilson discussed the issues with the spacing for the trees.

“The big concern now is the space between the curb and the sidewalk,” Wilson said. “We will be talking with the property owners through the whole process.”

Wilson said once the engineering work has been completed the city will most likely have some type of public hearing.

Wilson also spoke about widening the sidewalk by a foot.
“In order to add that extra foot we don’t have room on the property owners’ side to add it,” Wilson said. “We have to go to the street side and we can’t extend it beyond the City’s right-of-way.”