Anderson feeling 'stumped'
Funding needed for final step of tree removal
by JESSICA L. FINCH Associate Editor

Highway Superintendent Robert Anderson said because the Amherst Town Board has failed to come up with a plan to grind tree stumps he can't move forward with removing storm-damaged trees.

"I'm afraid to get into the next phase without nailing down a source of funding for the tree stumps," he said, adding he doesn't want to have the trees just cut down and leave behind thousands of stumps.

He said his memo to the Town Board and statements he's made on the issue at board meetings have not been addressed.

And the money he needs is significant. Anderson estimates that 8,000 tree stumps need to be removed at a cost of $225 a tree or $1.5 million to $1.8 million. Stump grinding costs are not paid for by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

As of Friday the certified arborists through Erie County finished assessing more than 11,000 trees in the public right of way.

The next step would be cutting down the trees marked by the arborists and followed by grinding the stumps.

Having heard nothing from the Town Board, Anderson wrote to Rep. Thomas Reynolds, R-Clarence, seeking funding.

"The Town of Amherst cannot afford the cost nor can the town leave approximately 8,000 plus tree stumps in the town right of way exposing the town to numerous liability claims," Anderson wrote Reynolds on April 20.

He also wrote that as long as the stumps remain, the town cannot move forward with its reforestation plan to replace those trees.

"Who is going to explain to the residents why the stumps are still in place and the new tree planting scheme has not started?" Anderson also wrote.

The town currently has a six-month extension from FEMA to remove the trees, which requires all work be under way by Oct. 12. Anderson said the contractor currently working through Erie County has estimated it can remove the approximate 8,000 trees in less than 60 days.

The Town Board and Supervisor Satish Mohan were forwarded copies of Anderson's letter.

"At this point I would have expected we would have had the trees cut down, or at least would have started," Anderson said about his clean-up plan.

When asked what has been the holdup, his response was, "Stumps, stumps, stumps."

On Monday the board held a special meeting to approve the clean-up of Lou Gehrig baseball park. Representatives from the organization requested the assistance of the town after being unable to complete the clean-up efforts.

Also, the town highway department will pick up debris during the annual brush cleanup in May. Information will be announced at a later time.

In other storm news, the town has been granted 25 trees from Re-Tree WNY, which will be planted on Arbor Day weekend, April 29. For information, visit www.re-treewny.org. The group is sponsoring the event with the University at Buffalo Green Office. An Enviro Fair will be held at 6 p.m. Friday at Alumni Arena at UB's North Campus before the address by former Vice President Al Gore.