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• <br /> It is very easy for people to say that volunteers can do this, <br /> but finding the volunteers, then keeping them motivated and <br /> active over the long run has proven to be difficult and <br /> requires staff time and funds to "encourage ", "coordinate ", <br /> and "support" participation. Since volunteers are "giving" <br /> of their spare time, the work is often by necessity not a high <br /> priority to them. A very great deal of effort is required to <br /> accommodate volunteers "schedule" of time they can be <br /> available. A few volunteers come with the needed knowledge <br /> of the activity they wish to participate in, however most come <br /> with great enthusiam and little expertise. Training becomes <br /> required which then takes time and resource away from either <br /> from staff or the other program volunteers. <br /> As seems to be implied in Joe's memo, the best formula for <br /> success for such programs seems to be a core staff with the <br /> responsibility to insure the program continues while <br /> soliciting and making the best use of the volunteer pool <br /> which may be available at any given time. It is also helpful <br /> if the volunteers gain a personal direct benefit for the work <br /> they are putting into the program. The very successful <br /> NeighborWoods program works much in this way. Although on an <br /> aside, I believe that if the NeighborWoods program grows much <br /> more it will very easily exceed out ability to support it <br /> without additional resources assigned. <br /> The Urban Forestry program and the tree crew are stretched <br /> very thin. Maintenance of existing street trees throughout <br /> the city is going undone. We do not have sufficient staff to <br /> do cyclic maintenance of our existing trees. Over the past <br /> few years we have pulled resources away from street tree <br /> maintenance to fund things such as the Urban Forestry Program <br /> and NeighborWoods due to the feeling these programs would <br /> heighten public awareness and give the programs long term <br /> benefits making the sacrifice worth while. A large part of <br /> our thought has been that a higher public awareness would <br /> bring about a more favorably climate for gaining approval for <br /> an increase in the budgeted resource allotment to the tree <br /> maintenance program. <br /> We are currently undertaking a one year pilot program to start <br /> a street tree location and condition inventory. It is hard to <br /> convince people of the needs of the tree maintenance program <br /> without being able to quantify the issues. We are taking on <br /> this "pilot" program with existing resources (again borrowed <br /> from the Urban Forestry and Tree Maintenance programs) but I <br /> suspect we will ask the Budget Committee to consider funding <br /> the program for the additional 2 -3 years it would take to <br /> complete an inventory on what is estimated to be 75,000+ <br /> street trees. <br /> I realize I've rambled on here somewhat, but my point is that <br /> don't believe we could take on another program in Urban <br /> Forestry using existing resources. This makes it a program I <br /> don't feel we have the ability to start at the staff level. <br /> Several possible courses of action come to mind if you wish to proceed. <br /> 1. We could designate a site on city controlled land if we <br /> had a volunteer group wanting to take the whole program on. <br /> 2. We could do an RFP asking for some agency /group to take on <br /> the program and in the RFP ask them what City support would be <br /> Page 2 <br />