Hailey was hit hard by a late-summer snowstorm last year that damaged hundreds of trees across the city. Ketchum, 13 miles to the north, was unscathed.
How much damage was done in monetary terms to Hailey's "urban forest" is still unknown.
As Hailey continues to prune trees from last year's storm, Ketchum parks officials say they may be in a position to help.
Jennifer Smith, Ketchum Parks and Natural Resources superintendent, is also chair of the Hailey Tree Committee. She told the Hailey City Council on Monday that Ketchum was willing to share computer resources and staff time to help Hailey undertake a complete inventory of trees on the city's public property this summer.
Smith said the inventory would count trees of many species, record their conditions and assess dollar amounts for their replacement value. She said an inventory of 60 percent of Ketchum's public property calculated a replacement value of $1 million for the trees there.
"Trees are assets like sidewalks and streets, only they are living and growing," she said in an interview.
Smith said the inventory would help to prioritize urgently needed tree pruning activities and identify tree-planting opportunities in Hailey.
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She proposed Monday that the two cities enter into a joint powers agreement to share computer software and staff time, while training Hailey workers to inventory city-owned trees.
Smith said the inventory would cost Hailey $7,000 with the cost sharing, or up to $24,000 if Hailey goes it alone.
Becki Keefer, project coordinator for the Hailey Parks and Lands Board, said the Hailey Parks and Lands Foundation would cover $2,500 of the inventory cost.
City Administrator Heather Dawson said the remaining $4,500 was available in city coffers.
The council and Mayor Rick Davis expressed support for the offer and decided to continue the discussion at a public meeting on May 10.
"I love to see governments working together, instead of warring," Davis said.
· In other Hailey news:
The council agreed to pay up to $24,654 for the city's share of a study of consolidating fire and emergency services among eight south-valley agencies, including the Hailey Fire Department.
Tony Evans: tevans@mtexpress.com
