Houston City Council approves grant to remove dead trees, provide reduced cost firewood to seniors

During the regularly scheduled Houston City Council meeting on June 13, 2024, council members discussed an ordinance that allows them to receive and match a grant that would allow the city to purchase equipment needed to cut and process trees, specifically the numerous dead spruce trees that decorate the landscape.

The wood would be processed and made available to the elderly and low-income residents for reduced costs, allowing them to keep their homes warm during the winter.

The initial $70,000.00 grant, awarded by Wood Innovations, requires matching funds, but the FY 2023-2024 did not include enough funds for the fully-required match, instead having available supplemented funds of $55,000.00, allowing the city to purchase and ship a wood processor.

Houston is a community at a high wildfire risk of 97% and in a recent Hazard Mitigation plan, there were 541 people in 244 residences that were vulnerable to wildfires.

Residents were divided over the large expenditure, with some saying that they struggled to afford the high cost of cords of wood and cold use the assistance, while the money would be better spent on roads in need of repairs and grading.

Diana Ring spoke in favor of the grant, expressing her appreciation that council members are trying to assist the seniors who call Houston home.

“The seniors who have spent their lives building our country and our state deserve some kind of benefit they aren’t getting otherwise. The cost of living has flatlined, the economy’s growing faster than our social security and our retirement benefits are, and we deserve some kind of benefit. The fact that you are considering something that would benefit the seniors in our community is fantastic.”

Zoltan Stersky told the council that he pretty much lives on his social security says that it is getting tougher and tougher every month because the cost of living doesn’t come close to covering all his expenses

“Any benefit with regards to keeping us warm in the winter would be much appreciated.” He said that his eyesight has been deteriorating and that he cannot safely cut the downed trees on his property “I think this particular ordinance opens up a possibility not just helping seniors, but other people in need in the community.”

Karen Kirkpatrick, a senior and disabled veteran spoke in favor of the ordinance, and that the reduced cost of purchasing a cord of firewood from this program has increased, leading her to find outside resources to help keep her warm in her home.

“If it hadn’t been for the Alaska Warrior Project this past winter, I wouldn’t have had any heat,” she told the council, adding “A program like this would be very helpful.”

Rick Dilley, a longtime Houston resident who went through the Miller’s Reach wildfire in 1996, which destroyed over 37,000 acres, destroyed at least 344 structures, and caused more than $10 million in damage to structures and property, said he understands the fire danger the dead and downed trees present, but cautioned about Houston cutting and selling wood.

“The city has no business going into the firewood business,” he told the council. He criticized the council for spending thousands of dollars for what he believes will be a failed project.

“There’s no way this is going to work. It’s going to fail and we’re going to waste all this money.” He also called out the council for purchasing the equipment from Canada, a claim that was repeated during the public hearing and addressed by Melissa Sonnek, the Public Works Clerk who applied for the grant, and Jared Eison, the Public Works Director.

“The processor was manufactured in New York, made in the USA, but it is sold in Calgary,” Sonnek said, adding that the shipping costs were significantly less expensive from Canada than the lower 48.

Dilley also expressed frustration that his road has not yet been graded and that the money the city is using to match the grant funds could be used to update the road maintenance equipment.

“My road has not yet been graded this summer. It gets very poor service during the winter…if the City of Houston is failing at road maintenance, why would we want to start up a logging company?”

His sentiments were echoed by RJ Wyatt, who begged for the roads to receive attention, this despite a current road paving project taking place on a major thoroughfare in Houston and the city currently accepting bids for the ‘Nine Roads Reconstruction’ project.

“While we appreciate the efforts and are seeing progress, which we do appreciate…there are half a dozen other roads are in desperate need of work,” he said. “If we can’t go to work to pay our bills or our taxes, then none of this continues.”

Fire Chief Christian Hartley, of the Houston Fire Department, said that the fire department is supportive of the removal of the dead trees as the department goes on multiple calls for fires that escape the campfires.

“All it takes is one of those fires to get out of control and most of Houston will be at risk.”

Councilmember Lisa Johansen issued caution on accepting the grant.

“This does need to be taken care of by the city, but we need to do it in a way that is by the laws and done properly and not misusing public funds.” She also warned the council to be cautious of crossing private and Tribal lands if the program is implemented.

Councilmember David Childs, who had earlier been elected as the new Deputy Mayor by the council, said that he hears the public when they ask for more public safety and maintaining the roads, but also hears public safety concerns and that seniors needing help is a priority, too.

“Perfect roads are meaningless if there’s nothing left of our city…We want more people to move into our city, not just younger people, but this to be a destination city for people to retire to as well.” He said that by leveraging this abundance of standing and dead beetle kill trees, this firewood processing is nothing less than investing in our citizens and your safety.”

The motion ultimately passed.