Arlington Hts. poised to extend ash borer program

Reacting to pleas from homeowners, the Arlington Heights village board gave preliminary approval Monday to extending a cost-sharing program for treating ash trees against the emerald ash borer.

The village would pay up to $100 toward two treatments for each parkway tree, which amounts to four years of protection.

The repeat treatments for 2,670 trees already treated under the village program would cost taxpayers almost $110,000, village staff members

said in a memo to the board. An estimated 500 residents might choose to treat their trees for the first time this year, and two treatments for each of those trees would total $50,000 for the village.

Trustees said this program will not be repeated, but that was the same stand they took in 2011.

The request for the extension came in November from residents in the Save Our Ash Coalition, which includes representatives from five subdivisions.

Arlington Heights has 13,000 ash trees on property the village is responsible for, and removing and replacing mature trees costs about $800 each, said Dru Sabatello, village forester. The village plans to sell bonds to pay the estimated $11 million this will eventually cost.

Robin LaBedz, the newest trustee, said she had been skeptical about spending village money to save trees, but she was impressed with the Save Our Ash Coalition's presentation.

"Not every neighborhood is willing to organize to treat their trees. I am impressed and willing to support additional expenditures," she said. "This will benefit the village forestry staff by helping to kind of spread out what you might have to do when they ultimately don't make it."

Trustee Jim Tinaglia asked Sabatello about supporters' "conviction that trees are just thriving."

"It sure looks that way," replied Sabatello, who said the village staff was examining treated trees as well as relying on reports.

Treating the trees does not require "high-stakes dollars," Tinaglia said. "I see this as a long-term investment for us to do it this way."

The village removed 2,836 infested trees between 2006 and early this year, Sabatello said.