In the interest of improving safety in town, council has spent around $20,000 to hire a company to trim and in some cases chop down trees.
Rimbey’s CAO Lucien Cloutier said Best Price Tree Service has been in town for several days trimming and chopping down trees which may present a safety hazard.
“I realize that Rimbey has some beautiful, lovely trees that we treasure, but we have to ensure that they do not pose a hazard because they block the view of stop signs, or reduce the sight distance.”
It is unfortunate, but we had to do what we had to do.”
Trees overhanging into public property will be trimmed to the property line.
Last month, several trees crashed in Rimbey due to the weight of heavy, wet snow that blanketed the area.
Public works foreman Rick Schmidt said several calls were made to public works by concerned citizens about broken branches and fallen trees.
“There were a dozen or so trees that fell,” he said. “We had call after call.”
Schmidt explained public works is required to look after trees on town property such as streets, parks and alleys, but property owners are responsible for their own trees.
“Property owners need to regularly maintain and trim their trees to help prevent them from becoming a serious hazard,” he said.