[Everyone] Re our trees and recent discussion of costs and fees with master arborists -- Would you be willing to pay $100 to $200 in assessment to check if any of our large trees is potentially in dangerous?

Mon Aug 21 19:25:32 UTC 2023

Hello all,
I just got off the phone with Boutte Tree service as I promised Lauren and
Vincent I would do.

The way they operate is that they schedule a time for an arborist to come
out to assess the property to the tune of $150. per hour; they then create
a recommended plan  -- from minor limb trimming to major tree removal. That
consultation fee is applied towards the cost of the service.

Rosamond

On Mon, Aug 21, 2023 at 2:05 PM Lauren Rich via Everyone <
everyone at chelseaplacedecatur.com> wrote:

> PS I was told by Jenkins office that he can eyeball a tree and decide
> whether he needs to do further testing. One of the things he looks for is
> is there a Target in the event that that tree falls. I was told by his
> office that he can usually gauge in what direction the tree is going to
> fall and therefore he can make a reasonable determination as to whether
> there is a target. So I don't think he would examine every single tree he
> would look at the trees that he thinks might fall and Destroy some of our
> property. Anyway that's my impression from my discussion with Jenkins
> office about 10 days ago.
>
> On Mon, Aug 21, 2023, 3:04 PM Lauren Rich <laureninatlanta at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Sarah - - my thought would be to gather as many of us as possible as we
>> walk with the arborist through the property and have him look at as many
>> trees as we'd like him to look at. Clearly for me there are the three trees
>> that are opposite my line of houses, those are the trees that concern me.
>> I'm sure others of us have other concerns. If we're going to hire someone
>> to do an examination and all chip in for it I think we all ought to be able
>> to have the arborist look at what we want him or her to look at. Anyway
>> that's my thought about this.
>>
>> On Mon, Aug 21, 2023, 2:08 PM Sara Crews <sara408 at comcast.net> wrote:
>>
>>> Lauren, will you please provide us with a listing/location of the trees
>>> to be inspected/eyeballed by the arborist?
>>>
>>> Many thanks,
>>> Sara
>>>
>>> On 08/20/2023 8:30 PM EDT Lauren Rich via Everyone <
>>> everyone at chelseaplacedecatur.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> If we hire arborist, he/she can go examine the trees (eyeball them)
>>> without permission from the owners.  However, what he/she will not do is
>>> actually the drilling inspection, in order to examine the core of the
>>> trees, without permission from people across the street.  So if we do hire
>>> arborist, we can ask him/her to look at trees on our property, and also to
>>> eyeball trees across the street to see what he/she would recommend in terms
>>> of more proactive examination (other than eyeball).  If we get that kind of
>>> recommendation from arborist, at that point I would contact people across
>>> the street and tell them what arborist said. . . If you want, you might
>>> want to ask them now if they are going to have arborist come out to look at
>>> the tree. . . to see what they say. . .
>>>
>>> On Sun, Aug 20, 2023 at 7:53 PM mitsy via Everyone <
>>> everyone at chelseaplacedecatur.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi Lauren and all,
>>>
>>> Thank you so much for looking into this matter. I'd be willing to chip
>>> in to get a throurough inspection. Also I understand that I need a
>>> permission from the green house across the street to get those 2 trees
>>> inspected, correct? I am concerned about those especially the one that's
>>> already damaged. I'd be more than happy to go talk to her but not really
>>> sure what we need from her legally. Would simple email be ok or does it
>>> need to be more official letter?
>>>
>>> Mitsy
>>>
>>> On Sun, Aug 20, 2023 at 11:04 AM Maryann Dabkowski via Everyone <
>>> everyone at chelseaplacedecatur.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi all-
>>> Personally willing to contribute $100-200 to have a thorough, expert
>>> review of our trees. It's tempting to go with the less expensive option,
>>> but I suspect he'd end up referring us for a more
>>> rigorous inspection anyway. I'd rather be proactive now than deal with a
>>> tree through my roof and windows later.
>>> -Maryann
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Aug 16, 2023 at 10:09 AM Lauren Rich via Everyone <
>>> everyone at chelseaplacedecatur.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Good morning all:
>>>
>>> Please see email below I sent to a few homeowners and Vincent re
>>> discussion I've had with 2 arborists.  One (Dave Butler) is willing to
>>> charge us $225 to come out to the property to look at our large trees, and
>>> then presumably to  tell us how much more it would cost to check our
>>> trees.  The other arborist (Peter Jenkins) would charge considerably more
>>> (as explained in below email), perhaps $1500+ to do thorough check and
>>> testing of our large trees.  There is a third arborist (Boutte) I will
>>> contact but I am going out of town tomorrow for 10 days and will not have
>>> time to do this until I get back (after 8/28).  I think it's likely it will
>>> cost closer to $1500+ rather than $225+ to get an expert assessment of
>>> whether any of our large trees are in danger of falling and damaging
>>> (perhaps catastrophically) our town homes (there are 5 of 11 townhomes
>>> within perhaps the fall path of 3 of our very large trees!).
>>>
>>> I believe in the past the Association has paid for cutting down trees,
>>> so I would hope that Association would decide to subsidize some of this
>>> cost, though I know (or believe) there is not enough in our account to pay
>>> all of it.  I would hope that if we each agreed to pay $100 to $200 -- if
>>> need be -- then we could have our trees examined by experts.  I am aware
>>> that there might be additional costs if the experts advise us to cut down
>>> any of the trees on our property.  However, I think we need to assess the
>>> risk.  Vincent asked me to forward my email below to you, with a bit of
>>> explanation (as  per above).  It would be great to hear what everyone has
>>> to say.
>>>
>>> Warmly, Lauren (#340)
>>>
>>> On Mon, Aug 14, 2023 at 10:28 AM Lauren Rich <laureninatlanta at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> I just spoke with Patty Jenkins at Tree Inspection.com, I strongly
>>> recommend that you look at the web site, especially this part:
>>> https://treeinspection.com/advice/how-to-spot-a-dangerous-tree .  The
>>> expert master arborists Peter Jenkins and Neil Norton work for this
>>> company.  Here is what Patty told me:
>>>
>>> First, she said Peter Jenkins (whom I believe is her husband) is the
>>> person who should look at the trees which concern us, she said he is the
>>> tree expert in this town.  Second, she could not give me a "firm" statement
>>> about fees, other than that he charges $150 per hour (not just for walking
>>> property and testing trees but also for writing up report -- which he would
>>> have to do if he recommends action on the tree), plus up to $100+ per tree
>>> to drill with a resistograph (which evidently helps to assess the health of
>>> very large trees 40 to 50 inches in diameter, she was able to look at tree
>>> map while I was on the phone with her and she says the 3 large trees facing
>>> my side of the property would be candidates for drilling because of their
>>> size, depending on what he sees).  If there are 8 to 10 large trees we are
>>> worried about, he would walk the property (she urges that as many of us as
>>> possible walk the property with him) and tell us which trees he thinks
>>> needs drilling in order to assess (he also takes into account where the
>>> tree might fall if it is not healthy when determining whether to drill; in
>>> other words, he would not drill if there is no "target" we should be
>>> concerned about).  I asked her whether $1000 to $1500 is a fair estimate;
>>> she said yes, but no guarantees.  What we CANNOT do is hire him just to
>>> walk the property for an hour, she said, and make a recommendation -- and
>>> then we choose whether to go forward or not.  I had the impression that we
>>> would HAVE TO go forward with whatever he suggests once we have him look at
>>> specific trees we are concerned about.  That's why the $1000 to $1500
>>> estimate.  She also said he is not available 'til next week.  I told her
>>> I'd get back to her at some point on this.
>>>
>>> I don't know whether we want to commit $1000 to $1500 of Association $
>>> on this right now, and be concerned it might be more than that. It's pretty
>>> clear to me from what she said that if Peter Jenkins believes he must drill
>>> a tree then we would have to agree for him to drill (and pay whatever the
>>> cost for drilling and for his time). I asked her whether we could say in
>>> response we are not willing to pay more than $1200 or so at this point, and
>>> I don't think that would be acceptable.  There is no written contract
>>> they use.  They have been in business for 40 years and have an excellent
>>> reputation, she said they are never interested in gouging. She told me the
>>> cost for some of his recent work for small homeowners associations was in
>>> range of $1800 (this was over 2 days and he drilled 7 trees and he probably
>>> looked at 30 or 40).  Perhaps each of us would agree to pay $100 to $200
>>> per unit toward this if bill, regardless of cost.  (I would certainly be
>>> willing to pay this.)  Perhaps Vincent you might want to write to the whole
>>> membership, or I am fine with you putting this on our community email and
>>> maybe we can vote on it.  It would be good to know how much money we have
>>> on hand in Association bank account.
>>>
>>> Last, I asked  her about Dave Butler, the arborist who has offered to
>>> walk our property for $225.  She said he is an excellent arborist and would
>>> tell us whether further testing is required on any trees -- and then he
>>> would likely refer us to their company (to Peter Jenkins for testing)!  So
>>> if we go this route -- ask Dave Butler to look at the trees for $225 -- we
>>> may wind up hiring Jenkins anyway (to essentially do the same thing).
>>>
>>> Not sure what we want to do here.  (However, I do think we should be
>>> concerned about more damage from trees (perhaps catastrophic damage) if
>>> this weather continues -- and I have no doubt it will.
>>>
>>>
>>> I am leaving town tomorrow for Augusta, then hopefully on Thursday to
>>> Canada for about 10 days.  I would be glad to check with other arborists
>>> when I get back.
>>>
>>> Best regards, Lauren
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Aug 11, 2023 at 2:52 PM Vincent Wimbush <vlwimbush at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Thanks for this work, Lauren.
>>>
>>> I agree with Sara that the price is reasonable. ((I'm actually
>>> relieved.) If the others you have contacted come in at or around this price
>>> I want to support moving forward with the assessment. I think we should
>>> give the others contacted a reasonable limited time to respond; but we
>>> should not hold things up for any one person or company. Let's say within a
>>> week's time (from initial contact)?
>>>
>>> I wonder now, Sara, whether the tree removal that was recommended ought
>>> not be put aside until we get assessment from an arborist. It may be the
>>> case that more action will be recommended. I would like not to have to go
>>> through the special hiring of Mr. Ringer or anyone else to address problems
>>> with trees on several different occasions apart from having the big picture
>>> to consider.
>>>
>>> Several big expenses may be ahead for the HOA. I am still wondering
>>> whether we can do all that needs to be done under regular budgeting. Too
>>> early for me to tell. But I am trying to keep things in balance.
>>>
>>> vlw
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Aug 11, 2023 at 2:31 PM Sara Crews <sara408 at comcast.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> Very reasonable price.  Thank you, Lauren
>>>
>>> On 08/11/2023 11:59 AM EDT Lauren Rich <laureninatlanta at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> See below, waiting for 2 more estimates.
>>>
>>> ---------- Forwarded message ---------
>>> From: Lauren Rich <laureninatlanta at gmail.com>
>>> Date: Fri, Aug 11, 2023 at 11:58 AM
>>> Subject: Re: Requesting fee schedule for tree examination
>>> To: Dave Butler <treebutlerdb7 at gmail.com>
>>>
>>>
>>> Thank you, Dave.  As I understand this, to look at the 12 large trees,
>>> you would charge the Association a total of $225 and would provide a
>>> written report and photos.  If we want you to assess more than 12 trees,
>>> you would come out to the property and give us an estimate.  (I assume you
>>> could do this while you are examining the 12 trees for the $225 fee; you
>>> could then tell us how much more your fee would be to examine others?)
>>>
>>> On Fri, Aug 11, 2023 at 10:42 AM Dave Butler <treebutlerdb7 at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Ms. Rich;
>>>
>>> I would be happy to conduct an assessment of the trees on your
>>> association's property.  My fee is usually based on the size of a property
>>> and the number of trees.  If you want me to assess the 12 trees only, the
>>> fee would be $225 and that would include a written report with photos.  If
>>> your association decides that they would want all trees on the property
>>> assessed, I would come out to evaluate the workload and then provide a
>>> written estimate.
>>>
>>> Thank you for contacting me for your tree care services.
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>> Dave
>>>
>>>
>>> Dave Butler
>>> The Tree Butler
>>> ISA Certified Arborist #SO-6236A
>>> treebutlerdb7 at gmail.com
>>> (404) 580-3917
>>>
>>> On Fri, Aug 11, 2023 at 4:06 AM Lauren Rich <laureninatlanta at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Dear Mr. Butler:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I reside at 340 Drexel Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030, in a development of 11
>>> townhomes in the middle of Drexel Avenue between Ponce de Leon and College
>>> Avenues.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Several trees have crashed on our block recently due to storms.  As a
>>> result, our homeowners association has recently been discussing whether we
>>> should retain an arborist to examine about a dozen large trees (and other
>>> smaller ones) in our development, to determine if there is any possibility
>>> of destruction of property due to age and health of these trees.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> We consulted the Georgia Arborists website for arborists and found your
>>> company's information.  I am seeking initial consultations with arborists
>>> on behalf of our association.  We are interested in your fee schedule
>>> to come out to our property to examine the trees.  I would appreciate any
>>> information you can provide in this regard.  If you would prefer to discuss
>>> this by phone, please provide phone number and most convenient time for
>>> me to call.  I am available to discuss this with you early next week.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Sincerely, Lauren Rich (phone 404 788 3023)
>>>
>>> --
>>> Lauren Rich
>>> Atlanta, GA
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Lauren Rich
>>> Atlanta, GA
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Lauren Rich
>>> Atlanta, GA
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Lauren Rich
>>> Atlanta, GA
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Lauren Rich
>>> Atlanta, GA
>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Lauren Rich
>>> Atlanta, GA
>>>
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