Energy, Street Trees, and Environmental Commission come before the EQPW Committee
Update:
Energy Reduction
James Bush, Energy Initiatives Section Manager, presented to the EQPW committee on the progress of Lexington’s energy reduction goals. He highlighted the City’s new lighting projects at facilities like Coolavin Park and along Versailles road. The updated lights at theses facilities use about 25% less energy than what is previously installed, helping reduce the overall energy use by the city.
However, Lexington is growing faster than these energy reduction programs, Bush emphasized that as LFUCG completes easier projects, remaining efforts will be more expensive and more difficult down the line.
Did you know: LFUCG spent $20.5 million on utilities in 2022!
Hazardous Street Trees
Jennifer Carey, Director of Environmental Services, presented on the City’s Hazardous Street Tree Program. This program is designed to remove potentially hazardous trees - like Pear, Pin Oak, and Red Maple trees - from city streets. The program will also typically then replace the removed trees with safer species like black gum and red maple.
In the last 12 months, 205 street trees were removed from 149 properties across Lexington. The exact number varies across Districts - District 9 had the most trees removed (73), while District 1 didn’t have any!
Council asked questions about how the Environmental Services division is making sure that all Lexington residents know about this program. Carey outlined plans to increase the program’s marketing efforts with this year’s budget allocations, with the goal of having equitable participation across all council districts.
The program has also recently expanded eligibility for the 100% cost grant program, where LFUCG will cover the entire cost to remove a potentially hazardous tree.
No action was taken at this meeting.
Note: The Environmental Commission presentation scheduled to take place at this meeting was postponed.
The Environmental Quality & Public Works (EQPW) Committee will meet this week to hear presentations on LFUCG’s energy reductions, updates to the street trees program, and a request from the Environmental Commission.
The first presentation highlights actions taken over the past year to reduce the City’s energy usage. James Bush, Energy Initiatives Section Manager, will talk about LFUCG’s utility budgeting and the success of their recent lighting and solar projects.
Next, Jennifer Carey will talk about resources available for Lexington residents to manage hazardous street trees. Council approved changes to this program back in February, and this presentation will cover the eligibility and funding available to participate, as well as street tree removal and replacement statistics from this past year. Carey will also talk about the upcoming street tree pruning initiative.
Last, the Committee will hear from Grace Leppert Downey, Chair of the Environmental Commission. The Environmental Commission has been working on updating its bylaws, which have not been updated since 1989. Some of the by-laws are set by city ordinances, so they will need Council approve to enact their requested changes. The largest change is reducing the maximum membership number from 40 to 25, and ensuring that there is at least one member from each Council district.
You can view all three presentations here. The Environmental Quality & Public Works Committee will meet on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 at 1pm in Council Chambers. You can attend in person or watch live on LexTV.
