Tree Trimming
Every year Public Works teams up with the Island Company to bring over West Coast Arborists (WCA) to trim trees throughout the city. Crews devoted the entire week assisting WCA with getting all of the trees on City property properly trimmed. Tasks mainly included traffic control, moving branches/debris, and street cleanup. The tree trimming areas included People’s Park, Sumner Ave., and along the water front. Unfortunately crews were not able to trim the palm trees along Front Street due to the winds. They will be rescheduled to be trimmed next week. Not only is this done for cosmetic purposes, but for safety purposes as well. Fallen palm fronds can be especially dangerous. All the trees however will continue to look great for our visitors as well thanks to this annual trimming that is done.
Garage Update
As usual, our mechanics have been very busy working on various vehicles & equipment. Work on several patrol boats have taken up much of their time the past couple weeks. Summer has taken its toll on them, and now is the time to haul them out to perform much overdue repairs. They also overhauled our Club Car utility cart, which was sorely needed. It has a bucket on the front of it, and is often used much like a skid steer. Unfortunately it cannot handle a lot of the loads we ask it to do, so we are looking into purchasing a skid steer. A skid steer will allow us to perform numerous tasks much more efficiently due to various attachments. Some major engine work was done to one of the DAR vans as well. Both of our DAR vans will need to be replaced soon due to their age, and increasing issues. They will likely be replaced with grant funded electric options.
Harbor Maintenance Update
Crews went to the mainland on Monday to perform the final work to the new pumpout dock float. Several cleats were installed, and the tow bridle as well. Diversified Composites is now working on painting the float, and installing a gripped deck surface. They are hoping to put it in the water by November 16, and it will then be towed to the island by a tow service. Crews also continued to work on “winterizing” the harbor. Some of the tasks included removing the ramp at the Barbara Pierson dinghy dock, and the floats for the Clubs dinghy dock. All of this work helps prevent damage to our floats & ramps caused by winter storms.